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: leaves · shower · degree · ground · bat · craft · stick · straw

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. craft — boats
  3. bat — the animal
  4. ground — crushed
  5. shower — to wash
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. craft — a skill
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. shower — rain
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. ground — a position
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. ground — the earth
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. degree — from a university

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