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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. spring — of water
  3. pop — soda
  4. saw — the tool
  5. degree — temperature
  6. spring — a coil
  7. staff — employees
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. staff — a stick
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. spring — the season
  13. saw — the tool
  14. degree — from a university
  15. staff — employees
  16. drill — army training
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. drill — the tool
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. pop — music
  24. drill — a practice

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