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 120 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: wake · track · bulb · chair · straw · mate · degree · kid

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chair — a leader
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. kid — child
  7. track — a song
  8. wake — a trail
  9. kid — to tease
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mate — to breed
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. degree — an amount
  20. mate — a partner
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

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