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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. game — a match
  4. kick — in football
  5. game — wild animals
  6. row — a line
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bass — low music
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bass — the fish

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