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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  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. bear — to put up with
  2. chair — a leader
  3. capital — a city
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ball — a great time
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bear — the animal
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. hand — in cards
  12. capital — money
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fork — in a road
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bear — the animal
  23. lie — an untruth
  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