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 120 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: pop · tube · object · mine · wind · rest · degree · nail

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pop — music
  3. degree — an amount
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — to protest
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pop — soda
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. degree — from a university
  13. tube — the underground
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — temperature
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. tube — a container
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wind — moving air
  24. object — a thing

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