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: degree · sharp · club · net · mine · swing · wind · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. sharp — clever
  3. board — to get on
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. net — for catching
  10. degree — from a university
  11. club — for golf
  12. board — a committee
  13. mine — for digging
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. net — after costs
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. net — in sport
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wind — moving air
  23. swing — music
  24. wind — moving air

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