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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. net — for catching
  3. swing — to play on
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. land — ground
  6. pop — to visit
  7. net — after costs
  8. last — finally
  9. swing — music
  10. net — in sport
  11. degree — temperature
  12. last — final
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. stand — to bear
  18. last — to go on
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. swing — in golf

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