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: ground · court · bass · hand · capital · wind · tube · charge

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. charge — a price
  3. ground — a position
  4. court — of a king
  5. charge — in control
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. charge — electricity
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. tube — a container
  14. court — of law
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wind — moving air
  17. capital — a city
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bass — low music
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. hand — help
  22. court — for sport
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — crushed

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