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

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pop — soda
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. capital — money
  8. degree — temperature
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fall — to drop
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. fall — to drop
  14. band — a music group
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. fall — the season
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — low music
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pop — music
  22. band — a ring
  23. plane — a tool
  24. pop — to visit

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