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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. hand — in cards
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. club — a group
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. hand — help
  11. deal — to handle
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wound — an injury
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. club — for dancing
  16. kick — in football
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. content — happy
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wound — an injury
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. hand — part of the body

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