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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fall — to drop
  4. swing — to play on
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pop — to visit
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. swing — in golf
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. swing — music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. capital — money
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. fall — the season
  18. pop — soda
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pop — music
  21. snap — to click
  22. capital — a city
  23. land — to come down
  24. mouse — the animal

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