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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. hand — help
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. row — a line
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pop — music
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chair — a leader
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pop — soda
  13. shower — rain
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bat — the animal
  16. row — to paddle
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bass — low music
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. shower — to wash
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. hand — in cards

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