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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cold — not warm
  7. land — ground
  8. chip — to eat
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wound — an injury
  12. key — for a lock
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cold — an illness
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. key — in music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. squash — the sport
  22. land — a country
  23. degree — from a university
  24. land — to come down

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