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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mine — for digging
  3. present — the time now
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. degree — from a university
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. fall — to drop
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — there
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fall — the season
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. fall — to drop
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — an eyelash

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