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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. spring — a coil
  4. swing — music
  5. pound — a weight
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. spring — the season
  10. hand — help
  11. pitch — completely
  12. spring — of water
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. swing — in golf
  16. hand — in cards
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer

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