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: present · hide · capital · chest · bat · land · staff · coach

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. present — a gift
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bat — the animal
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. present — the time now
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — a stick
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. capital — money
  21. chest — a box
  22. present — there
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. land — ground

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