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 116 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: pitcher · degree · land · bank · rule · club · file · ground

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. club — for golf
  3. ground — the earth
  4. file — a line of people
  5. land — to come down
  6. file — a tool
  7. rule — a law
  8. ground — a position
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. degree — from a university
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — for money
  14. rule — government
  15. club — a group
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bank — of a river
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. file — a document
  20. club — for dancing
  21. land — a country
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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