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: hand · pop · capital · scale · nail · board · spring · pitcher

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. scale — size or range
  4. board — a committee
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pop — music
  8. hand — help
  9. capital — money
  10. pop — soda
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pop — to visit
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. scale — in music
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. spring — of water
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. board — to get on
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. spring — the season
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pitcher — a jug

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