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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pound — a weight
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. spring — the season
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. race — humankind
  10. shower — to wash
  11. chest — of your body
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — of your body
  14. race — a contest
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. shower — rain
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. march — the month

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