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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rest — what's left
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. degree — an amount
  6. row — a line
  7. degree — from a university
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rest — what's left
  10. hand — in cards
  11. degree — temperature
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. rush — hurry
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wax — to grow
  16. rest — a break
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. hand — help
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. prune — to trim

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