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 · racket · chair · field · rule · clip · nail · leaves

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. clip — for paper
  5. club — a group
  6. clip — to cut
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. chair — a leader
  9. club — for dancing
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. rule — government
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. club — for golf
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. clip — a video
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. rule — a law
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. nail — on a finger

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