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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. degree — temperature
  4. roll — a cake
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cell — in biology
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. can — a tin
  10. cell — a phone
  11. lie — to recline
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. roll — a list
  14. field — a subject
  15. kid — child
  16. can — to be able to
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. degree — from a university
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. can — a tin

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