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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. 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. degree — an amount
  2. mug — a cup
  3. tube — a container
  4. last — finally
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. tube — the underground
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. tear — to rip
  9. last — final
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. tear — from crying
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. court — of law
  14. court — for sport
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. mug — a face
  17. scale — in music
  18. degree — temperature
  19. mug — to rob
  20. last — to go on
  21. degree — from a university
  22. court — of a king
  23. scale — size or range
  24. 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