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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. degree — an amount
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bore — to drill
  5. spell — letters
  6. cap — a lid
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. game — wild animals
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. net — for catching
  12. degree — from a university
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cap — a hat
  15. spell — a short time
  16. net — after costs
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. rash — hasty
  19. net — in sport
  20. rash — a series
  21. spell — magic
  22. cap — of ice
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bore — to tire

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