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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. stem — to come from
  3. degree — temperature
  4. game — wild animals
  5. rest — what's left
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. rest — a break
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. degree — from a university
  10. game — a match
  11. cold — an illness
  12. degree — an amount
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rest — what's left
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bore — to tire
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. shower — rain
  20. bore — to drill
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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