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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mate — a partner
  3. chest — of your body
  4. plane — a tool
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. chest — a box
  7. mate — to breed
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mate — a friend
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — hurry
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. drill — army training
  16. degree — an amount
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. march — the month
  20. wax — to grow
  21. chest — of your body
  22. drill — the tool
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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