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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. craft — boats
  7. clip — a video
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. craft — a skill
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. clip — for paper
  13. plane — a tool
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pitch — completely
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. capital — money
  24. mine — for digging

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