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: straw · leaves · ground · tube · wound · race · staff · degree

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. staff — employees
  4. race — a contest
  5. tube — the underground
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wound — an injury
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. degree — temperature
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. ground — a position
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. staff — employees
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. ground — crushed
  23. tube — a container
  24. staff — a stick

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