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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. wound — an injury
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. season — of the year
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. stock — goods
  9. row — a line
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. club — for golf
  13. row — to paddle
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. stock — shares
  18. club — for dancing
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. season — in sport

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