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 116 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. saw — the tool
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. kid — to tease
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. saw — the tool
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pound — a weight
  15. content — happy
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wound — an injury
  19. kid — child
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. pound — for dogs

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