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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — a group
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cell — a phone
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. ground — a position
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. club — for golf
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spell — magic
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cell — in biology
  16. branch — a division
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — soda
  19. degree — from a university
  20. spell — letters
  21. ground — the earth
  22. spell — a short time
  23. degree — an amount
  24. branch — of a bank

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