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 · game · branch · object · cold · wound · lean · cue

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. lean — thin
  6. object — a thing
  7. cold — not warm
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. game — a match
  11. cue — a hint
  12. lean — to bend
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. object — to protest
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. degree — from a university
  19. object — an aim
  20. game — wild animals
  21. branch — a division
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. wound — an injury

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