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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. band — a ring
  3. game — a match
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chest — of your body
  7. field — farmland
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. club — for golf
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. field — for sport
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. key — in music
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. key — for a lock
  21. club — a group
  22. snap — to click
  23. key — the most important part
  24. field — a subject

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