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: foot · straw · pop · key · degree · mine · pound · wind

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. key — the most important part
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. key — in music
  8. pop — soda
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. foot — a measure
  14. pop — to visit
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — for digging
  18. key — for a lock
  19. pound — a weight
  20. degree — temperature
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pop — music
  24. wind — to turn a key

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