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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. race — humankind
  3. degree — temperature
  4. clip — for paper
  5. can — a tin
  6. race — the arms race
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wound — an injury
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. prune — to trim
  12. kid — child
  13. degree — from a university
  14. clip — to cut
  15. can — a tin
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kid — to tease
  19. race — a contest
  20. can — to be able to
  21. clip — a video
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. degree — an amount
  24. ball — a round shape

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