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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. degree — an amount
  3. shower — rain
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wax — to grow
  7. present — the time now
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. shower — to wash
  11. degree — from a university
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. present — a gift
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. date — the fruit
  24. branch — a division

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