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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. object — an aim
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. stock — shares
  7. court — of a king
  8. degree — temperature
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — a thing
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. court — for sport
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. court — of law
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. degree — from a university
  22. stock — goods
  23. pound — a weight
  24. fork — in a road

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