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 116 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. kid — child
  3. rock — music
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. kid — to tease
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rock — a stone
  14. object — a thing
  15. file — a document
  16. object — to protest
  17. file — a tool
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. object — an aim
  20. pound — a weight
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. file — a line of people

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