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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. row — a line
  4. track — a song
  5. clip — to cut
  6. degree — an amount
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. row — to paddle
  11. track — to keep track
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — to sink
  16. mark — a trace
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. kid — to tease
  19. degree — temperature
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. degree — from a university
  24. track — a path

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