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: chair · bowl · foot · last · pop · clip · capital · squash

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. clip — for paper
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. last — final
  13. foot — a measure
  14. chair — a leader
  15. capital — a city
  16. clip — a video
  17. pop — soda
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. capital — money
  20. last — finally
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. squash — the sport
  24. last — to go on

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