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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. swing — music
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. object — to protest
  9. content — happy
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. row — a line
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. row — to paddle
  15. current — happening now
  16. swing — in golf
  17. object — a thing
  18. swing — to play on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. current — electric
  21. current — of water
  22. object — an aim
  23. pass — a permit
  24. content — the amount

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