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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. last — final
  5. hand — help
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. file — a tool
  8. last — to go on
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. last — finally
  15. cold — not warm
  16. prune — to trim
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. cold — an illness
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. prune — to trim
  24. hand — in cards

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