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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. club — for dancing
  3. cue — for pool
  4. bass — low music
  5. club — for golf
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. board — to get on
  9. clip — a video
  10. cue — a signal
  11. spring — the season
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. cue — a hint
  16. board — a committee
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. club — a group
  19. rule — government
  20. file — a document
  21. rule — a law
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bass — the fish

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