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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. kid — child
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. degree — temperature
  16. face — to confront
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. degree — from a university
  20. face — part of the head
  21. ball — a great time
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. degree — an amount

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