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 116 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: capital · chair · bass · spring · degree · scale · march · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. chair — a leader
  3. march — music
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. march — the month
  6. spring — the season
  7. capital — money
  8. bass — the fish
  9. scale — size or range
  10. march — the month
  11. capital — a city
  12. spring — a coil
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. spring — of water
  17. scale — in music
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bass — low music
  20. squash — the sport
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. degree — temperature
  24. squash — to crush

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