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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — from a university
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. chest — a box
  14. sharp — clever
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. degree — temperature

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