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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. chair — a leader
  4. scale — size or range
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rash — a series
  7. hand — help
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. degree — from a university
  10. band — a music group
  11. scale — in music
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rash — hasty
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. tear — to rip
  22. band — a ring
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. degree — temperature

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