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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. rest — a break
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rest — what's left
  7. march — the month
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a cake
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. march — music
  13. degree — temperature
  14. prune — to trim
  15. march — the month
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. roll — a list
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. rest — what's left
  22. hand — help
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fan — a supporter

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