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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. ground — crushed
  6. mine — for digging
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ball — a dance
  11. season — in sport
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. row — to paddle
  14. swing — music
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. swing — to play on
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ground — a position
  22. swing — in golf
  23. degree — from a university
  24. row — a line

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