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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. degree — an amount
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. object — to protest
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. degree — from a university
  10. object — a thing
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. tear — to rip
  13. degree — temperature
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. object — an aim
  16. tear — from crying
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. tear — from crying

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