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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. scale — size or range
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. tube — the underground
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. chip — for betting
  9. pound — a weight
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. scale — in music
  12. tube — a container
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. hand — help
  16. chip — to eat
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. sharp — clever
  24. hand — in cards

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