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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — for light
  4. content — the amount
  5. pound — a weight
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. file — a document
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. file — a tool
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rush — hurry
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. content — happy
  24. wind — to turn a key

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