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 · land · chair · scale · bound · march · last · capital

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. capital — a city
  3. rest — a break
  4. bound — tied together
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. chair — a leader
  8. rest — what's left
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bound — certain
  12. march — the month
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. march — the month
  16. land — ground
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. last — finally
  21. scale — in music
  22. last — final
  23. march — music
  24. bound — obliged

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