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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bass — low music
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. degree — temperature
  7. land — to come down
  8. degree — an amount
  9. game — a match
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. degree — from a university
  13. land — a country
  14. root — of a word
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pit — a hole
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. land — ground
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. root — the cause

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