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: snap · club · mate · squash · chair · wound · fan · march

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wound — an injury
  3. club — for dancing
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. mate — a partner
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. march — the month
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. squash — to crush
  18. march — music
  19. mate — to breed
  20. snap — to click
  21. club — a group
  22. march — the month
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. mate — a friend

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