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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chair — a leader
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. degree — an amount
  17. clip — a video
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. squash — the sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. saw — the tool

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