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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — temperature
  4. key — the most important part
  5. clip — for paper
  6. degree — from a university
  7. vault — a safe
  8. clip — a video
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. degree — an amount
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cold — not warm
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. cold — an illness
  21. key — in music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. key — for a lock

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