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: coach · pitcher · clip · bat · racket · capital · kid · mate

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. capital — a city
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mate — a partner
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. kid — to tease
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. clip — for paper
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. bat — the animal
  20. kid — child
  21. capital — money
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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