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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · club · vault · wind · land · race

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. land — to come down
  3. wind — moving air
  4. club — a group
  5. land — ground
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. race — a contest
  9. vault — a safe
  10. wind — moving air
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. race — humankind
  15. club — for dancing
  16. race — the arms race
  17. land — a country
  18. march — the month

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