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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pound — a weight
  6. rock — a stone
  7. field — for sport
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cold — an illness
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. field — a subject
  15. kid — child
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. rock — music
  18. bulb — for light
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. bulb — for light
  21. field — farmland
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. cold — not warm
  24. plane — in geometry

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