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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mate — to breed
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ground — a position
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cell — in biology
  8. tear — to rip
  9. ground — crushed
  10. last — to go on
  11. mate — a partner
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mate — a friend
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. last — final
  19. degree — from a university
  20. last — finally
  21. cell — a phone
  22. ground — the earth
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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