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 124 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bass — low music
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. ground — a position
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wound — an injury
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bass — the fish
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. clip — a video
  24. ground — crushed

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