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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bat — the animal
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. current — happening now
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. scale — size or range
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. game — a match
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pound — a weight
  14. current — electric
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. scale — in music
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. current — of water
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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