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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wind — moving air
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. fall — the season
  6. swing — in golf
  7. deal — to handle
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fall — to drop
  11. ball — a great time
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ball — a dance
  17. object — a thing
  18. fall — to drop
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — to protest
  21. degree — from a university
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. swing — music

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