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 120 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: face · fork · field · squash · pound · plane · bore · pitcher

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. field — farmland
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. face — part of the head
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bore — to tire
  12. field — for sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. field — a subject
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. plane — a tool
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pound — to hit hard

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