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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. swing — music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. capital — money
  9. can — to be able to
  10. capital — a city
  11. can — a tin
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rule — government
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rule — a law
  18. pitch — completely
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. can — a tin
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. club — a group
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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