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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. field — a subject
  9. cold — an illness
  10. shower — rain
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. club — a group
  13. ground — the earth
  14. field — for sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — crushed
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. field — farmland
  21. shower — to wash
  22. club — for golf
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. ground — a position

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