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: nail · land · club · snap · shower · lash · press · swing

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. club — for golf
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. club — for dancing
  5. land — ground
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. swing — music
  9. land — to come down
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. press — newspapers
  12. shower — to wash
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. swing — in golf
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. press — to push
  17. swing — to play on
  18. land — a country
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. press — a publisher
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. club — a group
  24. shower — rain

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