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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. can — a tin
  4. land — ground
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. field — for sport
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. can — a tin
  10. land — a country
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. land — to come down
  15. kid — child
  16. field — a subject
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. can — to be able to
  22. pound — a weight
  23. field — farmland
  24. fan — to cool the air

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