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 · bat · dip · clip · lash · kid · track · fan

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. clip — for paper
  6. capital — money
  7. kid — to tease
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bat — the animal
  11. clip — to cut
  12. track — a song
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. kid — child
  17. clip — a video
  18. dip — to sink
  19. track — a path
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. fan — a supporter

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