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: bear · spring · pop · degree · chest · game · track · present

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pop — music
  3. bear — the animal
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — to visit
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. present — the time now
  15. track — to keep track
  16. game — wild animals
  17. present — there
  18. chest — a box
  19. degree — temperature
  20. track — a path
  21. bear — the animal
  22. degree — an amount
  23. present — a gift
  24. track — a song

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