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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. squash — the sport
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. craft — boats
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. capital — a city
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. craft — a skill
  20. capital — money
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. squash — to crush

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