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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pound — a weight
  3. hand — help
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. degree — from a university
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — in music
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mine — for digging
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. present — there
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. present — the time now
  16. degree — temperature
  17. present — a gift
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wound — an injury
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wound — an injury

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