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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rest — what's left
  6. prune — to trim
  7. land — ground
  8. degree — from a university
  9. land — a country
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. rest — what's left
  13. land — to come down
  14. wound — an injury
  15. ball — a great time
  16. net — in sport
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. ball — a dance
  20. degree — an amount
  21. dip — to sink
  22. wound — an injury
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. degree — temperature

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