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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. spring — of water
  3. degree — an amount
  4. game — wild animals
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. spring — the season
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. game — a match
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. race — humankind
  17. march — the month
  18. race — a contest
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. race — the arms race
  24. spring — a coil

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