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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bound — certain
  5. wound — an injury
  6. march — the month
  7. bear — the animal
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. march — music
  10. degree — from a university
  11. shower — rain
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bound — obliged
  14. march — the month
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bound — tied together
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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