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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. scale — size or range
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. lean — thin
  8. capital — money
  9. degree — an amount
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. rest — a break
  12. capital — a city
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — to bend
  16. mine — for digging
  17. scale — in music
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. kid — to tease
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. degree — temperature
  24. kid — child

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