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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spring — the season
  4. degree — an amount
  5. rash — a series
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. spring — a coil
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rash — hasty
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — a tool
  16. root — of a word
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spring — of water
  19. root — of a plant
  20. degree — temperature
  21. root — the cause
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hide — to keep secret

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