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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. field — for sport
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bear — the animal
  6. land — a country
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. land — to come down
  11. field — a subject
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pit — in a race
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. wind — moving air
  20. field — farmland
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pound — a weight
  24. wind — moving air

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