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 · pitch · fork · court · shower · drill · ground · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pitch — completely
  5. court — for sport
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. court — of law
  8. shower — rain
  9. drill — army training
  10. fork — in a road
  11. ground — the earth
  12. shower — to wash
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. ground — a position
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. drill — the tool
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. ground — crushed
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. court — of a king
  24. fork — a garden tool

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