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 water is too ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cold — an illness
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. degree — from a university
  15. clip — to cut
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. clip — a video
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mine — for digging
  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