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: wind · club · race · cue · wake · saw · staff · land

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — for golf
  6. race — a contest
  7. wind — moving air
  8. staff — employees
  9. club — a group
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — a signal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. race — the arms race
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. cue — for pool
  21. wake — a trail
  22. club — for dancing
  23. race — humankind
  24. land — ground

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