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: present · pitch · band · swing · chair · clip · nail · content

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. 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. band — a ring
  2. clip — to cut
  3. present — there
  4. swing — music
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. clip — a video
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pitch — completely
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. content — happy
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. present — the time now
  18. clip — for paper
  19. swing — in golf
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. chair — a leader
  24. 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