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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. can — to be able to
  4. row — a line
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fall — to drop
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. fall — the season
  11. scale — size or range
  12. land — a country
  13. can — a tin
  14. branch — a division
  15. fall — to drop
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. row — to paddle
  18. cap — a lid
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. cap — a hat
  21. can — a tin
  22. scale — in music
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cap — of ice

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