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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fine — high quality
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. rush — hurry
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rest — what's left
  7. degree — an amount
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. shower — rain
  11. perch — the fish
  12. capital — a city
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. fine — all right
  21. capital — money
  22. rest — a break
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rush — to hurry

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