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 120 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — happening now
  3. march — the month
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. degree — an amount
  9. march — the month
  10. current — of water
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. tube — the underground
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. snap — to click
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tube — a container
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. march — music

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