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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rest — a break
  4. wound — an injury
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. spring — the season
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pitch — completely
  13. degree — from a university
  14. root — of a word
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. spring — of water
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pound — a weight
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wound — an injury
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rest — what's left

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