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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pound — a weight
  4. chest — of your body
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. branch — a division
  13. deal — to handle
  14. file — a tool
  15. bound — certain
  16. file — a line of people
  17. chest — of your body
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bound — tied together
  20. chest — a box
  21. bound — obliged
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. file — a document
  24. racket — a loud noise

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