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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · capital · bear · board · last · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. capital — a city
  3. board — a committee
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. kid — to tease
  6. last — final
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. press — to push
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. kid — child
  13. bear — the animal
  14. last — finally
  15. board — to get on
  16. capital — money
  17. last — to go on
  18. press — newspapers

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