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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rest — what's left
  9. capital — money
  10. firm — decided
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. firm — steady
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — for betting
  18. degree — temperature
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. firm — a company
  21. rest — a break
  22. wind — moving air
  23. capital — a city
  24. degree — from a university

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