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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  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. land — to come down
  2. club — for dancing
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. club — a group
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. land — a country
  17. ground — crushed
  18. land — ground
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. chest — a box
  23. lash — to lash out
  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