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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. board — to get on
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cold — not warm
  5. plane — a tool
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cold — an illness
  17. board — a committee
  18. pound — a weight
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spell — a short time

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