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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. game — a match
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. degree — from a university
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rock — a stone
  8. game — wild animals
  9. saw — the tool
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. sharp — clever
  14. kick — in football
  15. scale — in music
  16. saw — the tool
  17. degree — temperature
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. chest — a box
  22. rock — music
  23. degree — an amount
  24. scale — size or range

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