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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. club — a group
  3. wind — moving air
  4. club — for golf
  5. hand — help
  6. sharp — clever
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chip — for betting
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. club — for dancing
  16. scale — in music
  17. tube — the underground
  18. scale — size or range
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. chip — to eat
  21. tube — a container
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — for weighing
  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