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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. kid — to tease
  3. game — wild animals
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. game — a match
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fork — in a road
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. object — an aim
  15. plane — a tool
  16. object — to protest
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. object — a thing
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. kid — child
  24. plane — an aircraft

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