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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. track — a song
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stock — shares
  11. firm — steady
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. track — a path
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pass — a permit
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — a company
  22. stock — goods
  23. track — to keep track
  24. plane — in geometry

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