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: wave · roll · game · capital · rule · clip · club · pitcher

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. clip — a video
  3. capital — money
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. rule — government
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rule — a law
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for golf
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. roll — a list
  16. roll — a cake
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. game — a match
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. capital — a city

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