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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. ground — the earth
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. land — ground
  5. bass — the fish
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. prune — to trim
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. chair — a leader
  13. capital — a city
  14. bass — low music
  15. club — a group
  16. branch — a division
  17. club — for golf
  18. capital — money
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. land — a country
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. land — to come down

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