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 120 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: rest · bear · capital · mate · wound · court · race · lean

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. lean — to bend
  3. capital — a city
  4. race — humankind
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wound — an injury
  11. court — of law
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. capital — money
  14. lean — thin
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mate — a friend
  17. court — for sport
  18. rest — a break
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bear — the animal
  22. race — a contest
  23. rest — what's left
  24. court — of a king

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