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: degree · staff · race · wound · wave · last · cell · pitch

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wound — an injury
  4. staff — employees
  5. wound — an injury
  6. last — to go on
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. last — finally
  9. race — a contest
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. last — final
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pitch — completely

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