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: kid · lash · wind · field · hand · pit · coach · club

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. hand — in cards
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. club — for dancing
  10. field — a subject
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. field — for sport
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pit — a hole
  20. club — a group
  21. pit — in a race
  22. club — for golf
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. field — farmland

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