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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. sharp — clever
  5. kid — to tease
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. kid — child
  8. club — a group
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. land — a country
  12. chest — of your body
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. shower — rain
  15. land — to come down
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. land — ground
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. fork — in a road
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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