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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · degree · lie · cap · patient · pop · deal · bass

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cap — of ice
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cap — a hat
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. lie — to recline
  8. pop — to visit
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. degree — temperature
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. pop — music
  14. bass — the fish
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. pop — soda
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cap — a lid
  21. deal — to handle
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bass — low music
  24. patient — a sick person

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