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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cue — a signal
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. track — a path
  6. cue — a hint
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rash — a series
  9. track — a song
  10. shower — to wash
  11. track — to keep track
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — happy
  15. cue — for pool
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. content — the amount
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. shower — rain
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rash — hasty
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. plane — a tool

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