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 116 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — a group
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. game — wild animals
  9. hand — help
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. chair — a leader
  14. hand — in cards
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. game — a match
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bark — to shout
  24. game — a kind of play

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