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: tear · club · kid · pitcher · bound · craft · mark · chest

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. craft — boats
  3. mark — a grade
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. tear — to rip
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. club — for golf
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. mark — a trace
  13. tear — from crying
  14. club — for dancing
  15. bound — obliged
  16. club — a group
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. chest — a box
  20. kid — child
  21. craft — a skill
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — to tease

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