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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — an amount
  3. season — of the year
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. degree — from a university
  6. race — a contest
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. season — in sport
  9. stem — to come from
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. root — of a word
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. root — the cause
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. root — of a plant
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. rash — hasty
  22. race — humankind
  23. rash — a series
  24. race — the arms race

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