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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. tube — the underground
  3. spell — magic
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pitch — completely
  7. fall — the season
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. tube — a container
  10. spell — letters
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bass — low music
  14. bound — obliged
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. spell — a short time
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bass — the fish

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