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: root · hand · bark · capital · vault · sharp · march · patient

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. march — music
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. hand — help
  7. root — of a plant
  8. hand — in cards
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. sharp — clever
  13. root — of a word
  14. march — the month
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. vault — a safe
  21. root — the cause
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. capital — money
  24. march — the month

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