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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. chest — of your body
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. club — for dancing
  8. sharp — clever
  9. drill — a practice
  10. clip — a video
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. scale — in music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bear — the animal
  15. club — for golf
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chest — a box
  18. clip — to cut
  19. club — a group
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. clip — for paper
  22. game — a match
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. game — wild animals

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