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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cold — not warm
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bat — the animal
  11. game — a match
  12. last — to go on
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cold — an illness
  15. last — final
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. last — finally
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

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