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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. spell — magic
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cue — a hint
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. spell — letters
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cue — for pool
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. kick — in football
  16. degree — from a university
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cue — a signal
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cold — not warm

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