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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. cap — of ice
  3. court — for sport
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. cap — a hat
  8. object — a thing
  9. mark — a trace
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. object — to protest
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. spring — the season
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cap — a lid
  19. object — an aim
  20. court — of law
  21. sharp — clever
  22. court — of a king
  23. mark — a grade
  24. pound — a weight

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