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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. degree — an amount
  9. deal — to handle
  10. bound — tied together
  11. pound — a weight
  12. bound — obliged
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. degree — temperature
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cell — a phone
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bound — certain
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. cold — an illness

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