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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — a committee
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. degree — temperature
  6. board — to get on
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spring — a coil
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. mate — a partner
  15. degree — an amount
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. spring — of water
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. pitch — completely
  21. mate — to breed
  22. spring — the season
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mate — a friend

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