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 120 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: track · cold · plane · pitcher · chair · staff · degree · kid

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. kid — child
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. degree — an amount
  9. staff — a stick
  10. cold — an illness
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. track — a path
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. plane — a tool
  16. staff — employees
  17. track — a song
  18. chair — a leader
  19. degree — from a university
  20. track — to keep track
  21. staff — employees
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pitcher — a jug

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