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 · straw · chair · band · craft · wind · perch · dip

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. capital — a city
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wind — moving air
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. dip — to sink
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. perch — the fish
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. capital — money
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. chair — a leader
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. band — a ring
  24. wind — moving air

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