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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. hand — help
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. prune — to trim
  6. game — a match
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lean — thin
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. object — an aim
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. hand — in cards
  20. lean — to bend
  21. game — wild animals
  22. object — to protest
  23. object — a thing
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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