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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wound — an injury
  3. ground — crushed
  4. land — to come down
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pass — a permit
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pop — soda
  10. spring — of water
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pop — music
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. land — a country
  20. kid — child
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. spring — the season
  24. rest — a break

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