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: swing · rush · squash · jam · content · kid · key · capital

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. capital — a city
  3. rush — hurry
  4. squash — to crush
  5. swing — in golf
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. swing — to play on
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. capital — money
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. content — happy
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. content — the amount
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — in music
  18. kid — to tease
  19. key — the most important part
  20. squash — the sport
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. kid — child
  24. swing — music

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