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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. spring — a coil
  3. rest — what's left
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. spring — of water
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. roll — a cake
  8. ground — crushed
  9. branch — a division
  10. degree — temperature
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rest — what's left
  14. ground — a position
  15. clip — a video
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. plane — a tool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. spring — the season
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rest — a break
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — on a roll

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