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: club · hand · bass · racket · cold · pound · pitcher · squash

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. club — for dancing
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bass — the fish
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cold — not warm
  12. club — for golf
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cold — an illness
  16. club — a group
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pound — a weight
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bass — low music
  24. squash — to crush

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