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: pitcher · key · stem · cold · lie · kid · capital · straw

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cold — an illness
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. key — for a lock
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. lie — to recline
  18. key — the most important part
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. capital — a city
  23. key — in music
  24. kid — to tease

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