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: stem · capital · chair · land · root · face · pop · court

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. land — ground
  3. pop — to visit
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. capital — a city
  7. face — part of the head
  8. court — of a king
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pop — music
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. capital — money
  17. face — to point toward
  18. chair — a leader
  19. face — to confront
  20. stem — to come from
  21. root — the cause
  22. pop — soda
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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