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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. club — for golf
  4. row — a line
  5. club — for dancing
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. rest — a break
  9. club — a group
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wind — moving air
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. row — to paddle
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. calf — of the leg

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