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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. degree — from a university
  5. court — for sport
  6. row — to paddle
  7. last — finally
  8. row — a line
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. degree — an amount
  13. hand — in cards
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — of a king
  17. shower — to wash
  18. hand — help
  19. fall — the season
  20. last — final
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. court — of law
  23. last — to go on
  24. shower — rain

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