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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. capital — money
  3. file — a line of people
  4. kid — to tease
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. file — a document
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. cold — an illness
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. club — a group
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. club — for dancing
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. kid — child
  18. capital — a city
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. file — a tool
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — music

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