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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ground — a position
  4. mug — to rob
  5. field — for sport
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. mug — a cup
  9. field — farmland
  10. ground — the earth
  11. chest — a box
  12. lean — to bend
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. field — a subject
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cap — a hat
  17. pound — a weight
  18. lean — thin
  19. cap — of ice
  20. mug — a face
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. land — to come down
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cap — a lid

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