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: rest · court · tear · racket · chest · toast · capital · band

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. toast — bread
  3. band — a ring
  4. court — of a king
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. court — for sport
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. band — a music group
  12. rest — a break
  13. court — of law
  14. rest — what's left
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. capital — money
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chest — of your body

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