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: spring · racket · chair · present · capital · kid · key · cell

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. spring — of water
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. key — in music
  6. capital — money
  7. chair — a leader
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cell — a phone
  13. present — a gift
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. capital — a city
  16. present — there
  17. key — the most important part
  18. spring — the season
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cell — in biology
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. key — for a lock
  23. present — the time now
  24. racket — for tennis

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