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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. file — a document
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. object — to protest
  6. fine — all right
  7. wound — an injury
  8. object — an aim
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bear — the animal
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. degree — from a university
  14. spell — letters
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fine — high quality
  18. file — a tool
  19. spell — magic
  20. saw — the tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bear — the animal
  24. object — a thing

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