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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. craft — a skill
  5. kid — to tease
  6. current — of water
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. craft — boats
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. file — a document
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. file — a tool
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. kid — child
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bark — to shout
  20. capital — money
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. current — electric
  24. current — happening now

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