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 116 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spell — letters
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pound — a weight
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pitch — completely
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. file — a document
  15. stock — shares
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spell — magic
  19. tube — the underground
  20. file — a tool
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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