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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. spring — a coil
  3. tear — to rip
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. rest — what's left
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. squash — to crush
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pound — a weight
  16. rest — what's left
  17. tear — from crying
  18. net — for catching
  19. sharp — clever
  20. rest — a break
  21. spring — the season
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. spring — of water

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