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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. capital — money
  3. pitch — completely
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — a city
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. net — after costs
  11. land — ground
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bear — the animal
  14. land — to come down
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. clip — to cut
  17. net — in sport
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. land — a country
  24. net — for catching

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