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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chest — of your body
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. tear — from crying
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bass — the fish
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bass — low music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. chest — of your body
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chest — a box
  24. hand — part of the body

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