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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · bat · season · fork · mine · pound · dip · kid

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. ground — a position
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. pound — a weight
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kid — to tease
  12. ground — crushed
  13. season — of the year
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mine — for digging
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. season — in sport
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. dip — to sink
  24. fork — in a road

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