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 124 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. field — a subject
  4. hand — in cards
  5. current — electric
  6. chip — to eat
  7. shower — to wash
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. capital — a city
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. shower — rain
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. field — for sport
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. current — happening now
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. current — of water
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chip — for betting
  22. field — farmland
  23. hand — help
  24. fork — to eat with

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