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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. can — to be able to
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. last — final
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. last — to go on
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. field — farmland
  12. last — finally
  13. can — a tin
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. field — a subject
  16. scale — in music
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. scale — size or range
  19. can — a tin
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. pound — a weight
  22. dip — to sink
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. field — for sport

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