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: stand · degree · spell · squash · cue · cell · kick · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. capital — a city
  2. spell — magic
  3. cue — a hint
  4. spell — a short time
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. spell — letters
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. degree — temperature
  11. stand — to bear
  12. cue — a signal
  13. capital — money
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. degree — an amount
  16. squash — the sport
  17. degree — from a university
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. kick — in football
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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