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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. track — to keep track
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. clip — to cut
  13. roll — a cake
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. deal — to handle
  18. game — a match
  19. track — a path
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. degree — temperature
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. track — a song

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