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 · pitcher · capital · wound · kid · bore · present · chair

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. chair — a leader
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — there
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. rest — what's left
  11. kid — child
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. capital — money
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bore — to drill
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. present — the time now
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rest — a break
  24. wound — an injury

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