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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. track — a song
  3. net — for catching
  4. last — finally
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pitch — completely
  8. net — in sport
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. last — final
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. net — after costs
  16. track — a path
  17. pound — a weight
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. hand — in cards
  20. last — to go on
  21. track — to keep track
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wound — an injury
  24. hand — help

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