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 · hand · last · calf · bound · perch · pitch · game

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bound — certain
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. last — final
  9. game — wild animals
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitch — completely
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — obliged
  16. last — finally
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. game — a match
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. capital — a city
  21. hand — help
  22. perch — the fish
  23. capital — money
  24. last — to go on

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