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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. net — after costs
  4. chip — to eat
  5. net — in sport
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. net — for catching
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — to bear
  11. wound — an injury
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. degree — an amount
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. lie — to recline
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bass — low music
  21. chip — for betting
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cold — not warm

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