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: row · cap · game · kick · content · kid · capital · land

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. kick — in football
  3. land — to come down
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. land — ground
  12. content — happy
  13. game — a match
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. capital — a city
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. land — a country
  19. kid — child
  20. cap — a hat
  21. capital — money
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. content — the amount

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