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: court · cold · coach · capital · drill · fall · fan · leaves

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fall — the season
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. capital — money
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. court — of law
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. court — for sport
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. fall — to drop
  16. drill — a practice
  17. capital — a city
  18. court — of a king
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cold — an illness
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cold — not warm
  23. drill — army training
  24. fall — to drop

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