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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. tear — from crying
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. hand — in cards
  6. race — humankind
  7. degree — temperature
  8. last — to go on
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. race — the arms race
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. fine — high quality
  14. tear — from crying
  15. degree — an amount
  16. last — final
  17. tear — to rip
  18. race — a contest
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — all right
  21. last — finally
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. hand — help
  24. patient — a sick person

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