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 · pitcher · mine · bass · racket · content · wind · rule

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. rule — a law
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. club — for dancing
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. club — for golf
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. rule — government
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. club — a group
  23. wind — moving air
  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