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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bulb — for light
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. cold — an illness
  19. row — a line
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. club — for golf
  23. bulb — for light
  24. row — to paddle

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