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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lean — thin
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. content — the amount
  17. mine — for digging
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. degree — temperature
  20. content — happy
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. degree — an amount
  24. ball — a round shape

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