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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. degree — from a university
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spring — the season
  10. squash — the sport
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spring — of water
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. spring — a coil
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. wound — an injury
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wound — an injury
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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