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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. net — in sport
  6. mate — to breed
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. clip — a video
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. court — of law
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mate — a friend
  17. board — to get on
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. net — after costs
  20. court — of a king
  21. net — for catching
  22. board — a committee
  23. spring — of water
  24. court — for sport

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