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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. track — a song
  7. swing — in golf
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. track — a path
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. track — to keep track
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. row — a line
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. swing — to play on
  18. capital — a city
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bass — the fish
  21. capital — money
  22. swing — music
  23. row — to paddle
  24. leaves — lets stay

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