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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. land — a country
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. chair — a leader
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. land — to come down
  7. lean — to bend
  8. row — a line
  9. land — ground
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. craft — a skill
  12. race — humankind
  13. degree — temperature
  14. craft — boats
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. race — the arms race
  17. row — to paddle
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. degree — from a university
  21. lean — thin
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pound — a weight
  24. race — a contest

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