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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. branch — a division
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. clip — for paper
  5. staff — a stick
  6. suit — in cards
  7. staff — employees
  8. club — a group
  9. ball — a dance
  10. staff — employees
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. suit — to fit
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chair — a leader
  16. clip — to cut
  17. club — for dancing
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. clip — a video
  20. ball — a great time
  21. degree — an amount
  22. suit — clothes
  23. degree — from a university
  24. branch — 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