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: coach · firm · capital · drill · squash · trunk · hand · chest

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. drill — the tool
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — decided
  5. squash — the sport
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. chest — of your body
  8. drill — a practice
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. hand — help
  11. chest — of your body
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. chest — a box
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. drill — army training
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. squash — to crush
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. squash — the vegetable

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