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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bass — the fish
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. clip — for paper
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. clip — to cut
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. spell — magic
  17. prune — to trim
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. spell — a short time
  20. capital — a city
  21. scale — in music
  22. capital — money
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bass — low music

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