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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. pop — music
  3. mate — a friend
  4. swing — in golf
  5. capital — money
  6. swing — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. clip — to cut
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bore — to drill
  12. clip — for paper
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bulb — for light
  19. capital — a city
  20. pop — soda
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mate — a partner
  23. clip — a video
  24. bulb — of a plant

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