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: perch · ground · nail · degree · cold · sharp · bore · mine

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bore — to drill
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mine — for digging
  7. degree — an amount
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ground — the earth
  10. degree — temperature
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. ground — a position
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. ground — crushed
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bore — to tire
  21. cold — not warm
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. degree — from a university
  24. perch — for a bird

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