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: swing · pop · wound · chair · jam · file · ball · wind

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. ball — a great time
  4. pop — music
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. pop — to visit
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. swing — music
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. wind — moving air
  15. file — a tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wind — moving air
  18. swing — in golf
  19. ball — a dance
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. pop — soda
  22. file — a document
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. file — a line of people

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