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: vault · club · ball · wake · rush · capital · pitch · clip

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ball — a great time
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. club — for golf
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. clip — a video
  16. vault — a safe
  17. capital — money
  18. club — for dancing
  19. ball — a dance
  20. pitch — completely
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. capital — a city
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. club — a group

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