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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. season — in sport
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. race — the arms race
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. chair — a leader
  8. capital — money
  9. field — for sport
  10. race — a contest
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — to breed
  13. race — humankind
  14. field — a subject
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. kick — in football
  18. capital — a city
  19. season — of the year
  20. mate — a partner
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. field — farmland

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