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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. capital — money
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. chair — a leader
  15. hand — help
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bat — the animal
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. hand — in cards
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. trunk — of a tree

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