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: degree · club · bear · rule · wound · pitcher · tube · track

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. degree — an amount
  3. track — to keep track
  4. degree — from a university
  5. tube — a container
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. tube — the underground
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. track — a song
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rule — government
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. track — a path
  19. club — a group
  20. bear — the animal
  21. club — for dancing
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. club — for golf

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