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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. net — for catching
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. cap — a lid
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cap — a hat
  7. court — of law
  8. net — after costs
  9. capital — a city
  10. field — a subject
  11. rest — what's left
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. net — in sport
  15. capital — money
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rest — what's left
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. court — for sport
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. court — of a king
  24. rest — a break

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