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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. chair — a leader
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. spring — the season
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cell — in biology
  13. season — in sport
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. season — of the year
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. stand — to bear
  20. degree — an amount
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cell — a phone
  23. spring — of water
  24. ruler — a monarch

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