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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. row — a line
  3. last — finally
  4. capital — money
  5. board — a committee
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. board — to get on
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. row — to paddle
  13. last — final
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bass — low music
  16. capital — a city
  17. last — to go on
  18. bass — the fish
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fork — in a road
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. board — a flat piece

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