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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — a trail
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. land — a country
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. land — to come down
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. net — after costs
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wound — an injury
  16. net — in sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bore — to drill
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. net — for catching
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — gave birth

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