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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. swing — in golf
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. mate — a friend
  6. spring — the season
  7. land — to come down
  8. swing — to play on
  9. capital — money
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. spring — a coil
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pit — a hole
  17. mate — to breed
  18. spring — of water
  19. swing — music
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. clip — a video
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. capital — a city
  24. land — a country

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