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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bound — certain
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bound — tied together
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pitch — completely
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. degree — temperature
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. degree — an amount
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. hand — help
  22. rash — a series
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rash — hasty

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