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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. swing — music
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bat — the animal
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. swing — in golf
  22. plane — a tool
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bat — in an idiom

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