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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. pound — a weight
  3. dip — to sink
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. tube — a container
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. shower — to wash
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. ground — the earth
  10. kid — child
  11. file — a document
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. shower — rain
  16. file — a line of people
  17. kid — to tease
  18. ground — a position
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. tube — the underground
  21. ground — crushed
  22. file — a tool
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. dip — a sauce

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