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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. kid — to tease
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. degree — temperature
  8. spring — of water
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. cold — an illness
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stock — goods
  15. spring — the season
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. kid — child
  18. spring — a coil
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. degree — an amount
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

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