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 116 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: hand · pop · club · march · sharp · cold · pound · present

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pop — to visit
  3. march — the month
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cold — not warm
  8. hand — in cards
  9. present — there
  10. sharp — clever
  11. pop — music
  12. present — the time now
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. present — a gift
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pop — soda
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — for golf
  20. march — the month
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. march — music
  23. club — a group
  24. hand — help

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