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: ground · bulb · sharp · hand · jam · scale · squash · mine

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mine — for digging
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. hand — in cards
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. ground — a position
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. squash — to crush
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bulb — for light
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. sharp — clever
  19. squash — the sport
  20. scale — in music
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bulb — for light
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bulb — of a plant

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