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 · saw · wave · race · stick · net · mouse · tear

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. saw — the tool
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. net — after costs
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. degree — from a university
  17. net — for catching
  18. race — humankind
  19. net — in sport
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. race — a contest
  23. degree — temperature
  24. saw — the tool

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