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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rash — a series
  4. capital — a city
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. track — a path
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. content — the amount
  11. cold — not warm
  12. capital — money
  13. lie — to recline
  14. present — there
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. present — a gift
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cold — an illness
  21. present — the time now
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. content — happy
  24. swing — in golf

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