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 · row · ball · content · court · fall · capital · cell

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. swing — to play on
  5. fall — to drop
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. court — for sport
  9. capital — a city
  10. content — the amount
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. fall — the season
  15. content — happy
  16. swing — music
  17. ball — a dance
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. swing — in golf
  21. ball — a great time
  22. court — of a king
  23. fall — to drop
  24. court — of law

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