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: bass · bore · shower · hand · mine · press · chest · degree

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bore — to drill
  3. chest — a box
  4. hand — help
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. press — newspapers
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bass — the fish
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chest — of your body
  12. shower — rain
  13. degree — temperature
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bore — to tire
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. press — to push
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. chest — of your body
  20. shower — to wash
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. press — a publisher
  24. mine — for digging

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