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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. club — for golf
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. last — final
  8. sharp — clever
  9. club — a group
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. last — to go on
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. club — for dancing
  15. capital — a city
  16. scale — in music
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. scale — size or range
  21. capital — money
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. last — finally
  24. sharp — exactly

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