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 120 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: lean · track · fork · pound · rest · file · snap · kid

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. track — a song
  2. kid — to tease
  3. lean — to bend
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. track — a path
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pound — a weight
  14. lean — thin
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. snap — to click
  19. track — to keep track
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. kid — child
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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