ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. capital — money
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. fine — high quality
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. fine — all right
  12. capital — a city
  13. game — a match
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bark — to shout
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — electricity
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. hand — help
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. game — wild animals
  23. charge — in control
  24. straw — a straw man

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com