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 116 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: club · drill · board · file · rash · ground · object · wound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. object — an aim
  3. drill — a practice
  4. club — a group
  5. ground — a position
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. object — to protest
  8. club — for golf
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. object — a thing
  12. board — a committee
  13. ground — crushed
  14. board — to get on
  15. ground — the earth
  16. file — a document
  17. wound — an injury
  18. club — for dancing
  19. drill — the tool
  20. file — a tool
  21. rash — hasty
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rash — a series
  24. drill — army training

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