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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. file — a line of people
  5. club — a group
  6. file — a document
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — an illness
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. file — a tool
  12. can — a tin
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wind — moving air
  16. row — a line
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cold — not warm
  23. ball — a great time
  24. row — to paddle

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