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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. degree — from a university
  3. squash — to crush
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. degree — temperature
  6. deal — to handle
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. shower — to wash
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. degree — an amount
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. fork — in a road
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. squash — the sport
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. scale — size or range

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