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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. band — a music group
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. capital — money
  7. band — a ring
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — for digging
  16. swing — music
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. capital — a city
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. lean — thin
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. craft — boats
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — in golf

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