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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. file — a line of people
  3. ground — a position
  4. hand — in cards
  5. ground — crushed
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ground — the earth
  9. degree — temperature
  10. hand — help
  11. rest — what's left
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. band — a music group
  14. chip — for betting
  15. rest — a break
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rest — what's left
  19. degree — an amount
  20. band — a ring
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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