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: club · coach · fork · wind · capital · stand · march · clip

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. clip — a video
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. capital — a city
  11. club — for golf
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. clip — to cut
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. stand — to bear
  18. march — the month
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. club — for dancing
  23. fork — in a road
  24. club — a group

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