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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitch — completely
  4. file — a tool
  5. key — in music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. last — finally
  8. degree — from a university
  9. kid — child
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. key — the most important part
  13. last — to go on
  14. board — a committee
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. key — for a lock
  18. last — final
  19. file — a document
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. file — a line of people
  23. board — to get on
  24. hand — in cards

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