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: ball · club · current · board · straw · file · bound · field

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. field — for sport
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. ball — a dance
  8. club — a group
  9. field — a subject
  10. current — electric
  11. club — for dancing
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. current — of water
  19. field — farmland
  20. bound — tied together
  21. board — a committee
  22. ball — a great time
  23. current — happening now
  24. file — a line of people

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