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 116 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. degree — an amount
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. current — electric
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. degree — temperature
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. current — happening now
  22. shower — to wash
  23. degree — from a university
  24. current — of water

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