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: tear · court · saw · swing · pitch · sharp · pound · plane

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. swing — to play on
  4. tear — to rip
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pound — a weight
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. tear — from crying
  11. court — for sport
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. plane — a tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. saw — the tool
  17. sharp — clever
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pitch — completely
  24. plane — in geometry

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