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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. land — a country
  3. capital — money
  4. tube — the underground
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cold — an illness
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. court — of a king
  13. land — ground
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cold — not warm
  16. court — of law
  17. tube — a container
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. court — for sport
  21. land — to come down
  22. capital — a city
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. sharp — with an edge

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