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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mine — for digging
  3. degree — temperature
  4. deal — to handle
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. degree — from a university
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. can — to be able to
  13. craft — boats
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a dance
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. can — a tin
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. shower — rain
  23. can — a tin
  24. ball — a great time

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