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: bound · pop · firm · cold · wind · club · rule · straw

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rule — a law
  7. firm — decided
  8. club — for dancing
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bound — certain
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pop — soda
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pop — music
  17. club — a group
  18. firm — steady
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rule — government
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cold — not warm
  24. firm — a company

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