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 116 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: track · club · bat · current · cold · rule · capital · fall

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. club — for golf
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fall — to drop
  5. capital — money
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. current — electric
  8. current — happening now
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fall — the season
  11. current — of water
  12. track — a path
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bat — the animal
  15. capital — a city
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — government
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cold — not warm
  21. track — a song
  22. track — to keep track
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

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