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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. suit — to fit
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mine — for digging
  5. degree — from a university
  6. suit — clothes
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. hand — in cards
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. hand — help
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. suit — in cards
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. tear — from crying
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. game — wild animals
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. game — a match
  21. tear — to rip
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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