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: bowl · plane · bass · clip · club · temple · tear · capital

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. tear — from crying
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. club — a group
  6. bass — low music
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. tear — from crying
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. clip — for paper
  14. capital — a city
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. club — for golf
  17. tear — to rip
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. bass — the fish
  21. club — for dancing
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. capital — money

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