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: mug · fork · racket · cold · sharp · bore · capital · court

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mug — to rob
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bore — to tire
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. capital — money
  10. court — for sport
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. court — of a king
  13. capital — a city
  14. mug — a cup
  15. sharp — clever
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. bore — to drill
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cold — not warm
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. court — of law
  24. sharp — exactly

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