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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. clip — for paper
  5. field — farmland
  6. charge — in control
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. club — for dancing
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pit — in a race
  13. field — for sport
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. clip — a video
  18. pit — a hole
  19. club — a group
  20. field — a subject
  21. charge — a price
  22. capital — a city
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. charge — electricity

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