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 116 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: row · rule · clip · bat · bulb · club · capital · staff

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. club — for golf
  3. capital — a city
  4. bat — the animal
  5. club — a group
  6. clip — for paper
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. club — for dancing
  11. clip — a video
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — a law
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. capital — money
  18. clip — to cut
  19. row — a line
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. staff — a stick

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