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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. net — for catching
  10. wound — an injury
  11. degree — temperature
  12. rush — hurry
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. net — in sport
  17. wax — to grow
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. net — after costs
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wax — in the ear

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