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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bass — the fish
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. clip — a video
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. ground — a position
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mate — a partner
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wax — to grow
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bass — low music
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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