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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. kid — to tease
  3. clip — for paper
  4. club — for golf
  5. drill — a practice
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. clip — to cut
  9. club — a group
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. drill — the tool
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. vault — a safe
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. row — a line
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. drill — army training
  21. kid — child
  22. row — to paddle
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. clip — a video

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