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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. shower — rain
  3. degree — temperature
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. degree — from a university
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stand — to bear
  10. wound — an injury
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pop — to visit
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. pop — soda
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spell — a short time
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pop — music
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. spell — magic

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