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: pound · pitch · spring · chair · ruler · hide · wound · bat

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wound — an injury
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitch — completely
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. spring — the season
  24. ruler — for measuring

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