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: key · club · rush · chest · bat · roll · rash · straw

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. club — for golf
  4. key — the most important part
  5. chest — a box
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. club — for dancing
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. club — a group
  13. key — in music
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. roll — a list
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. roll — a cake
  20. bat — the animal
  21. key — for a lock
  22. rush — hurry
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. bat — for baseball

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