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: deal · wax · mine · land · spring · tear · pound · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wax — to grow
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. land — a country
  8. spring — the season
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. land — ground
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. tear — to rip
  14. spring — of water
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. deal — to handle
  19. land — to come down
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. deal — a big deal

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