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 120 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. clip — for paper
  3. row — to paddle
  4. club — for golf
  5. row — a line
  6. capital — a city
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. chip — for betting
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — a tool
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. capital — money
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. clip — to cut
  22. club — a group
  23. chip — to eat
  24. clip — a video

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