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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. club — a group
  3. content — happy
  4. club — for golf
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. club — for dancing
  7. march — the month
  8. rash — a series
  9. content — the amount
  10. prune — to trim
  11. march — the month
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. file — a document
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rash — hasty
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. march — music
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. trunk — of a tree

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