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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. degree — from a university
  3. sharp — clever
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lean — thin
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pop — music
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. pop — soda
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. pop — to visit
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stand — to bear
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. date — the fruit
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. degree — temperature
  24. sharp — with an edge

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