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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. swing — in golf
  9. capital — money
  10. kick — in football
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. degree — from a university
  13. capital — a city
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. degree — temperature
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. swing — to play on
  18. rush — hurry
  19. bass — low music
  20. swing — music
  21. pitch — completely
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. degree — an amount

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