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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. spring — of water
  4. net — after costs
  5. degree — temperature
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. net — in sport
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. net — for catching
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. game — wild animals
  15. season — in sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spring — the season
  18. degree — from a university
  19. toast — bread
  20. game — a match
  21. spring — a coil
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — of the year
  24. mine — an explosive

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