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: date · clip · ground · club · hand · game · deal · wake

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. club — for golf
  6. clip — for paper
  7. club — a group
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wake — a trail
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. clip — to cut
  13. ground — a position
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. ground — the earth
  17. deal — to handle
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. clip — a video
  21. ground — crushed
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. game — a match
  24. hand — help

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