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

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — a weight
  3. lie — to recline
  4. field — for sport
  5. race — a contest
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chest — of your body
  8. degree — an amount
  9. can — to be able to
  10. race — humankind
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. can — a tin
  13. race — the arms race
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rash — hasty
  16. chest — a box
  17. field — farmland
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. can — a tin
  22. rash — a series
  23. field — a subject
  24. chest — of your body

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