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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. game — a match
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. game — wild animals
  6. degree — temperature
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. degree — an amount
  9. track — to keep track
  10. tear — to rip
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. degree — from a university
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — in music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bat — the animal
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a committee

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