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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. branch — a division
  6. cold — not warm
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fine — all right
  9. game — wild animals
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rest — what's left
  12. toast — bread
  13. fork — in a road
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. game — a match
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rest — what's left
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. fork — to eat with

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