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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. pound — a weight
  3. kid — child
  4. land — to come down
  5. bear — the animal
  6. file — a tool
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. row — to paddle
  15. land — ground
  16. file — a document
  17. row — a line
  18. kid — to tease
  19. land — a country
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pop — music
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pop — soda
  24. file — a line of people

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