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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. degree — from a university
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — temperature
  6. season — in sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. spring — the season
  13. kick — in football
  14. spring — a coil
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. spring — of water
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — of the year
  24. game — a match

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