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 116 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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. game — a match
  3. capital — money
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bass — the fish
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bass — low music
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. court — of a king
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tear — to rip
  16. prune — to trim
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. court — of law
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. court — for sport

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