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: lie · court · wound · kick · race · capital · press · ball

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. lie — to recline
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. race — humankind
  7. ball — a great time
  8. press — to push
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. press — a publisher
  13. capital — a city
  14. wound — an injury
  15. race — a contest
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. press — newspapers
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. capital — money
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. race — the arms race
  24. kick — in football

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