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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cold — an illness
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. pitch — completely
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. dip — to sink
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. fork — in a road
  24. dip — to dunk

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