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: hand · wound · wax · craft · present · capital · cue · land

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — boats
  3. capital — a city
  4. present — there
  5. present — the time now
  6. wound — an injury
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. land — ground
  13. hand — in cards
  14. capital — money
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. wax — to grow
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a hint
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. hand — help
  23. present — a gift
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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