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 116 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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kick — in football
  5. rush — hurry
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. spring — the season
  10. staff — employees
  11. degree — temperature
  12. spring — a coil
  13. degree — from a university
  14. dip — to sink
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. cold — not warm
  18. staff — a stick
  19. degree — an amount
  20. staff — employees
  21. cold — an illness
  22. row — a line
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. spring — of water

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