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 · jam · court · date · row · hand · capital · kid

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. swing — in golf
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. kid — child
  8. court — for sport
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. swing — music
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. hand — in cards
  15. row — a line
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. hand — help
  22. swing — to play on
  23. kid — to tease
  24. row — to paddle

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