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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. roll — a list
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. branch — a division
  6. plane — a tool
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. capital — a city
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. sharp — clever
  13. degree — an amount
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. roll — a cake
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. degree — from a university
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. wax — to grow

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