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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. cap — a lid
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cap — a hat
  8. current — of water
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pop — music
  11. file — a document
  12. pound — a weight
  13. file — a tool
  14. current — happening now
  15. degree — from a university
  16. spell — magic
  17. file — a line of people
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cap — of ice
  21. deal — to handle
  22. pop — soda
  23. current — electric
  24. spell — letters

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