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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. spring — of water
  5. march — the month
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. spring — a coil
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. vault — a safe
  12. cold — not warm
  13. spring — the season
  14. wind — moving air
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cap — of ice
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. date — the fruit

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