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: rock · game · last · pound · land · cold · hide · ball

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. land — ground
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. last — to go on
  5. pound — a weight
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. game — a match
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. ball — a dance
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. ball — a great time
  14. game — wild animals
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. land — a country
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. land — to come down
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. last — final
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rock — a stone

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