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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a great time
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fork — in a road
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. swing — in golf
  9. capital — a city
  10. content — happy
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — music
  13. spell — letters
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. content — the amount
  16. spell — magic
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. capital — money
  22. spell — a short time
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. ball — a round shape

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