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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. land — to come down
  3. file — a tool
  4. land — a country
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. press — newspapers
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. dip — to sink
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. press — a publisher
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. degree — from a university
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. file — a document
  19. land — ground
  20. wound — an injury
  21. press — to push
  22. bass — the fish
  23. degree — temperature
  24. file — a line of people

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