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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. kid — child
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. swing — to play on
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. ground — the earth
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bulb — for light
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bulb — for light
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a great time
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. saw — the tool

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