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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rest — a break
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — hurry
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. net — after costs
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. last — final
  12. pound — a weight
  13. scale — size or range
  14. last — to go on
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. net — for catching
  20. rest — what's left
  21. net — in sport
  22. rest — what's left
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. scale — in music

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