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: mine · toast · pound · squash · ground · bowl · net · plane

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. ground — a position
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. toast — bread
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. squash — the sport
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. ground — crushed
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. squash — to crush
  22. net — after costs
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — a 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