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: content · ball · ground · wind · dip · swing · nail · pitch

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wind — moving air
  5. swing — music
  6. ground — a position
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. pitch — completely
  10. ground — crushed
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ground — the earth
  21. dip — to sink
  22. ball — a dance
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. pitch — a sports field

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