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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. stem — to come from
  8. cold — an illness
  9. track — a path
  10. track — to keep track
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. track — a song
  13. pitch — completely
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. chip — for betting
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. squash — to crush
  21. chip — to eat
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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