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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. tear — to rip
  3. sharp — clever
  4. pop — music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pop — soda
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bulb — for light
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. present — a gift
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. tear — from crying
  21. degree — temperature
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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