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: land · vault · pop · degree · bat · chip · stem · spell

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pop — to visit
  4. chip — for betting
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. land — a country
  8. degree — from a university
  9. spell — letters
  10. pop — soda
  11. land — ground
  12. spell — magic
  13. land — to come down
  14. degree — temperature
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. pop — music
  22. vault — a safe
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. spell — a short time

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