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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — to keep track
  3. swing — in golf
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. degree — from a university
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. degree — an amount
  11. capital — a city
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. swing — to play on
  16. degree — temperature
  17. swing — music
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. track — a path
  24. capital — money

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