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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. hand — help
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. race — humankind
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. degree — an amount
  11. hand — in cards
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. race — the arms race
  17. fork — in a road
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. game — a match
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. race — a contest
  24. perch — the fish

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