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: sharp · kick · race · bay · scale · last · pop · degree

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. pop — soda
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. last — final
  5. pop — to visit
  6. last — finally
  7. degree — from a university
  8. scale — in music
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. sharp — clever
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. last — to go on
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. scale — size or range
  21. degree — temperature
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pop — music

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