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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. track — to keep track
  7. file — a line of people
  8. track — a song
  9. clip — a video
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. craft — boats
  13. spring — of water
  14. capital — money
  15. spring — the season
  16. capital — a city
  17. file — a document
  18. track — a path
  19. spring — a coil
  20. file — a tool
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. craft — a skill

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