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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. capital — a city
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. game — wild animals
  7. capital — money
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — government
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. deal — to handle
  13. scale — in music
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. game — a match
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. scale — size or range
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. rule — to rule out

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