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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. rest — a break
  3. stem — to come from
  4. band — a ring
  5. squash — to crush
  6. degree — an amount
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rest — what's left
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. squash — the sport
  16. band — a music group
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. degree — from a university
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. rest — what's left
  23. march — the month
  24. degree — temperature

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