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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pop — soda
  4. ball — a great time
  5. cell — a phone
  6. staff — employees
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spring — the season
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. degree — temperature
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bass — low music
  14. degree — from a university
  15. staff — employees
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pop — to visit
  18. spring — of water
  19. ball — a dance
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. pop — music
  23. staff — a stick
  24. cell — in a prison

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