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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. capital — money
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. shower — rain
  7. can — a tin
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. clip — for paper
  13. can — a tin
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. shower — to wash
  16. root — of a word
  17. capital — a city
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. can — to be able to
  21. root — of a plant
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bass — low music
  24. root — the cause

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