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 116 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. squash — the sport
  3. tube — a container
  4. degree — temperature
  5. race — a contest
  6. tube — the underground
  7. swing — to play on
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. fine — high quality
  10. swing — music
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. race — the arms race
  17. fine — all right
  18. swing — in golf
  19. squash — to crush
  20. race — humankind
  21. bark — to shout
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. tube — in a 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