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: pop · wound · hand · tube · fan · content · swing · capital

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. pop — music
  5. hand — in cards
  6. swing — music
  7. content — happy
  8. hand — help
  9. capital — money
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. content — the amount
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pop — soda
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. capital — a city
  18. pop — to visit
  19. wound — an injury
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. capital — a big letter

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