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: squash · game · wound · land · cap · straw · last · degree

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. degree — from a university
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. cap — a hat
  7. last — finally
  8. wound — an injury
  9. land — to come down
  10. degree — an amount
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. degree — temperature
  14. game — a match
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cap — a lid
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. last — to go on
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. squash — to crush
  22. last — final
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cap — of ice

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