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: land · fall · pound · track · press · fork · rash · game

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. press — to push
  3. rash — hasty
  4. land — to come down
  5. track — to keep track
  6. fall — the season
  7. track — a song
  8. rash — a series
  9. press — a publisher
  10. land — ground
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. fork — in a road
  14. track — a path
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. land — a country
  20. press — newspapers
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. game — a match
  24. fall — to drop

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