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: club · roll · degree · plane · spell · straw · race · hand

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. club — for golf
  3. roll — a cake
  4. spell — letters
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. degree — an amount
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. race — a contest
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hand — in cards
  14. race — humankind
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — a group
  19. race — the arms race
  20. degree — from a university
  21. spell — magic
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. roll — a list
  24. hand — help

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