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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. land — to come down
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. game — a match
  6. mine — for digging
  7. chest — of your body
  8. land — ground
  9. suit — clothes
  10. suit — in cards
  11. mug — a cup
  12. game — wild animals
  13. land — a country
  14. mug — a face
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. suit — to fit
  18. chest — of your body
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. chest — a box
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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