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

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ball — a great time
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. degree — temperature
  7. toast — bread
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. cold — an illness
  10. race — humankind
  11. rash — hasty
  12. race — a contest
  13. board — a committee
  14. rash — a series
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. race — the arms race
  17. board — to get on
  18. cold — not warm
  19. land — ground
  20. degree — from a university
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. ball — a dance
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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