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: season · club · kid · shower · trunk · charge · game · file

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. kid — child
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. file — a tool
  9. shower — rain
  10. club — for dancing
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. charge — electricity
  13. club — for golf
  14. shower — to wash
  15. file — a document
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. charge — in control
  18. club — a group
  19. game — wild animals
  20. season — of the year
  21. charge — a price
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. game — a match

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