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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. mate — a partner
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a friend
  6. file — a document
  7. fork — in a road
  8. hand — help
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. spell — letters
  11. degree — from a university
  12. season — of the year
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. hand — in cards
  16. file — a tool
  17. season — in sport
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spell — magic
  20. degree — an amount
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wind — moving air
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wind — moving air

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