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: bowl · court · kid · shower · capital · chair

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. court — of law
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. court — for sport
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. kid — child
  14. capital — money
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. court — of a king
  18. capital — a city

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