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 120 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. court — of law
  3. root — of a word
  4. clip — for paper
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rash — a series
  8. clip — to cut
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — hasty
  12. clip — a video
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. root — the cause
  15. ball — a great time
  16. court — for sport
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. court — of a king
  21. ball — a dance
  22. capital — money
  23. root — of a plant
  24. mark — a grade

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