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: nail · capital · cell · row · rash · prune · track · club

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. rash — hasty
  4. club — a group
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cell — in biology
  7. club — for golf
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. row — to paddle
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. prune — to trim
  16. club — for dancing
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. row — a line
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. track — to keep track

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