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 · pit · patient · content · lie · spell · fall · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. club — for dancing
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pit — a hole
  5. degree — from a university
  6. lie — to recline
  7. spell — magic
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pit — in a race
  11. content — the amount
  12. club — a group
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fall — the season
  17. club — for golf
  18. content — happy
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. spell — a short time
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. fall — to drop
  23. spell — letters
  24. content — videos and posts

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