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: club · swing · fork · mouse · degree · race · chest · mine

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. race — the arms race
  6. club — for dancing
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. race — humankind
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fork — in a road
  11. swing — music
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. race — a contest
  14. chest — a box
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. degree — from a university
  17. club — for golf
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mine — for digging
  20. degree — an amount
  21. club — a group
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — in 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