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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pound — a weight
  3. saw — the tool
  4. march — the month
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. file — a tool
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. stand — to bear
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. file — a line of people
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. file — a document
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. stem — a stem cell

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