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: capital · nail · club · degree · coach · chest · temple · cold

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. degree — temperature
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. club — for dancing
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. degree — an amount
  14. club — a group
  15. chest — a box
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. club — for golf
  19. chest — of your body
  20. capital — money
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. degree — from a university

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