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: leaves · capital · shower · band · chair · last · bound · date

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bound — certain
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. band — a music group
  8. shower — rain
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. capital — money
  11. bound — obliged
  12. last — final
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. last — finally
  18. bound — tied together
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. last — to go on
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. band — a ring
  24. shower — to wash

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