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: pitcher · pound · ground · branch · present · shower · straw · spell

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pound — a weight
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — letters
  6. shower — to wash
  7. present — a gift
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. ground — the earth
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. ground — crushed
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. spell — magic
  21. present — there
  22. present — the time now
  23. ground — a position
  24. shower — rain

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