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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · present · swing · wind · pop · clip

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. clip — to cut
  3. swing — music
  4. present — there
  5. pop — music
  6. present — the time now
  7. pop — to visit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wind — moving air
  12. capital — a city
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. clip — a video
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. capital — money
  18. present — a gift

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