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 · arm · march · rest · court · kick · bat · cold

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. march — music
  9. rest — a break
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. capital — a city
  14. cold — an illness
  15. court — for sport
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — the animal
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. capital — money
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. court — of law
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. court — of a king
  24. bat — in an idiom

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