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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. degree — temperature
  4. deal — to handle
  5. cold — an illness
  6. court — of a king
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kid — child
  10. lean — thin
  11. stem — to come from
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — a short time
  16. court — for sport
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. court — of law
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. kid — to tease

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