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: press · stick · bat · key · mine · club · degree · wound

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. key — in music
  8. wound — an injury
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. press — to push
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. key — the most important part
  14. press — newspapers
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bat — the animal
  21. degree — an amount
  22. key — for a lock
  23. wound — an injury
  24. degree — temperature

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