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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. clip — to cut
  5. branch — a division
  6. field — a subject
  7. bark — to shout
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. clip — a video
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. field — farmland
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. capital — money
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. field — for sport

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