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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. net — in sport
  4. band — a ring
  5. ground — crushed
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. swing — to play on
  8. band — a music group
  9. swing — in golf
  10. ground — the earth
  11. swing — music
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. net — for catching
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. ground — a position
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. race — humankind
  23. mine — for digging
  24. net — after costs

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