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: straw · bat · lash · field · net · club · bark · track

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. club — for golf
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bark — to shout
  5. track — to keep track
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. net — after costs
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. club — a group
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. field — farmland
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. track — a path
  15. field — a subject
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. field — for sport
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. net — in sport
  21. track — a song
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. club — for dancing
  24. net — for catching

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