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 120 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: wake · scale · club · hand · shower · racket · content · cold

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — an illness
  5. club — for golf
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. club — a group
  10. hand — help
  11. content — the amount
  12. shower — to wash
  13. cold — not warm
  14. club — for dancing
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. content — happy
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wake — a trail
  19. shower — rain
  20. scale — size or range
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. scale — in music
  24. racket — a loud noise

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