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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. season — of the year
  3. present — there
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. sharp — clever
  11. file — a tool
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cap — a hat
  14. season — in sport
  15. vault — a safe
  16. present — the time now
  17. cap — a lid
  18. degree — temperature
  19. file — a document
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. degree — an amount
  24. present — a gift

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