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: perch · land · capital · bowl · clip · chair · fall · bound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. chair — a leader
  3. land — ground
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — a country
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. clip — for paper
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. fall — to drop
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. fall — the season
  20. capital — money
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. 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