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: mate · capital · straw · kid · club · bark · patient · lie

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mate — a friend
  3. capital — a city
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mate — a partner
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. capital — money
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. club — for golf
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. lie — to recline
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bark — to shout
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. kid — child
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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