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: fall · fork · can · straw · wind · capital · chest · bowl

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. capital — a city
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — a box
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. wind — moving air
  12. capital — money
  13. fall — the season
  14. can — to be able to
  15. chest — of your body
  16. can — a tin
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. can — a tin
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fork — in a road
  24. straw — a straw man

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