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: pound · tear · cold · mug · mate · key · last · pitcher

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mug — a face
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mate — a friend
  7. last — final
  8. key — for a lock
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. last — to go on
  11. mug — to rob
  12. key — in music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. last — finally
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mug — a cup
  23. key — the most important part
  24. pound — a weight

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