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 120 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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. ground — the earth
  3. degree — from a university
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. game — a match
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. degree — temperature
  11. can — a tin
  12. rule — a law
  13. ground — a position
  14. band — a ring
  15. rule — government
  16. ground — crushed
  17. cold — not warm
  18. can — to be able to
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. band — a music group
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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