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: mine · object · ground · degree · deal · leaves · cold · straw

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. ground — the earth
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. ground — crushed
  15. object — an aim
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cold — an illness
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. deal — to handle
  21. object — a thing
  22. ground — a position
  23. object — to protest
  24. leaves — to go away

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