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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chip — to eat
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pound — a weight
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. clip — a video
  9. chest — a box
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. chip — for betting
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cell — in biology
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. degree — from a university
  23. clip — for paper
  24. hide — animal skin

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