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 116 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. drill — a practice
  5. pop — to visit
  6. mate — a partner
  7. drill — army training
  8. rest — a break
  9. row — a line
  10. drill — the tool
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mate — to breed
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pop — soda
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pop — music

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