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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. firm — a company
  3. drill — the tool
  4. cell — in biology
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. row — a line
  7. court — of a king
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cell — a phone
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. drill — army training
  14. club — for dancing
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. firm — steady
  17. drill — a practice
  18. club — a group
  19. spring — the season
  20. row — to paddle
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. firm — decided
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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