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: cap · chest · shower · swing · arm · court · cold · club

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cap — a hat
  3. swing — music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. club — for golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chest — a box
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cap — a lid
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. court — of law
  17. chest — of your body
  18. swing — in golf
  19. court — for sport
  20. shower — rain
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. club — a group
  23. cap — of ice
  24. court — of a king

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