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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. degree — from a university
  3. drill — the tool
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. staff — a stick
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bore — to tire
  10. date — the fruit
  11. cell — a phone
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cell — in biology
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. drill — a practice
  18. kid — child
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. staff — employees
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bore — to drill
  24. staff — employees

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