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 124 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 · ground · fine · band · lie · mine · net · hand

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. band — a ring
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fine — all right
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. hand — in cards
  7. net — in sport
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. net — for catching
  14. degree — an amount
  15. band — a music group
  16. degree — from a university
  17. lie — to recline
  18. fine — high quality
  19. ground — a position
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. hand — help
  22. mine — for digging
  23. ground — the earth
  24. net — after costs

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