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: stand · bat · kid · shower · lash · cold · club · drill

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. drill — a practice
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. club — for dancing
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stand — to bear
  10. cold — not warm
  11. shower — to wash
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. club — a group
  15. drill — army training
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. shower — rain
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. drill — the tool

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