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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. club — a group
  3. race — humankind
  4. pound — a weight
  5. hand — in cards
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. season — in sport
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. root — of a plant
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. root — of a word
  14. race — the arms race
  15. file — a tool
  16. game — a match
  17. file — a line of people
  18. club — for dancing
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. season — of the year
  21. file — a document
  22. race — a contest
  23. root — the cause
  24. club — for golf

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