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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. object — to protest
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bass — low music
  7. object — a thing
  8. bulb — for light
  9. rush — hurry
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cold — an illness
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. land — a country
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bass — the fish
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. land — to come down
  19. capital — money
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bulb — for light
  23. object — an aim
  24. capital — a city

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