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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. present — there
  4. present — a gift
  5. shower — to wash
  6. scale — in music
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. ball — a great time
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. shower — rain
  13. ball — a dance
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. degree — an amount
  19. present — the time now
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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