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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chest — of your body
  3. squash — the sport
  4. drill — army training
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. squash — to crush
  7. capital — a city
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. drill — the tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fork — in a road
  13. capital — money
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. chest — a box
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pound — a weight
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. drill — a practice
  23. ball — a dance
  24. straw — a straw man

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