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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. pop — to visit
  3. mate — a friend
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. pop — music
  10. bass — low music
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. mate — to breed
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. kid — to tease
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. track — a path
  17. kid — child
  18. pop — soda
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a song
  21. pass — a permit
  22. degree — temperature
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. degree — from a university

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