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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. club — a group
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. march — the month
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wind — moving air
  7. root — the cause
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. march — music
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. march — the month
  15. root — of a plant
  16. wake — a trail
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. root — of a word
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. club — for golf

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