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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. capital — a city
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. ground — the earth
  12. rock — music
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. row — to paddle
  16. ground — a position
  17. court — of law
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. capital — money
  21. ground — crushed
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. court — of a king

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