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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. ground — a position
  4. cell — in biology
  5. degree — temperature
  6. toast — bread
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pitch — completely
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. wound — an injury
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cell — a phone
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. ground — crushed
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stem — to come from

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