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: content · club · wound · key · clip · rush · pitcher · cap

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. key — for a lock
  3. cap — of ice
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — for paper
  6. key — in music
  7. key — the most important part
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cap — a hat
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cap — a lid
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. clip — a video
  15. content — happy
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. clip — to cut
  18. club — a group
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. club — for golf

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