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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. firm — decided
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cold — not warm
  14. degree — from a university
  15. firm — a company
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cold — an illness
  18. firm — steady
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fork — in a road
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mate — to breed

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