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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. land — ground
  3. craft — a skill
  4. hand — help
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. key — for a lock
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. key — in music
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. key — the most important part
  18. craft — boats
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cap — of ice
  21. ground — a position
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. craft — a handicraft

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