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: race · pitch · wound · row · squash · craft · rule · club

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. club — for golf
  5. craft — a skill
  6. race — a contest
  7. club — a group
  8. rule — government
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. row — to paddle
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. craft — boats
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. squash — to crush
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. club — for dancing
  23. row — a line
  24. wound — an injury

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