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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. degree — from a university
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. scale — in music
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. rush — hurry
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. scale — size or range
  21. sharp — clever
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. scale — for weighing

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