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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. capital — money
  3. degree — an amount
  4. shower — rain
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. squash — to crush
  8. mark — a grade
  9. foot — a measure
  10. mark — a trace
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. shower — to wash
  13. degree — from a university
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. degree — temperature
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — the underground
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. capital — a city
  24. squash — the sport

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