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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bore — to drill
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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