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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  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. club — a group
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. board — a committee
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cold — an illness
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. club — for golf
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. season — in sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bat — the animal
  18. board — to get on
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. season — of the year
  22. prune — to trim
  23. board — a flat piece
  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