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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. degree — from a university
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. race — humankind
  7. capital — a city
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. race — the arms race
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. race — a contest
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. ground — the earth
  22. hand — in cards
  23. ground — a position
  24. degree — temperature

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