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: swing · wind · pitcher · club · game · saw · hand · wake

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hand — in cards
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — for golf
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. game — wild animals
  12. club — a group
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wind — moving air
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. wake — a trail
  21. game — a match
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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