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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. current — happening now
  5. degree — an amount
  6. face — to confront
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. face — part of the head
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. current — of water
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. branch — a division
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. fork — in a road
  19. face — to point toward
  20. craft — boats
  21. degree — temperature
  22. current — electric
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. craft — a skill

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