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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — for paper
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. pop — soda
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. degree — an amount
  11. scale — size or range
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. staff — a stick
  15. scale — in music
  16. degree — from a university
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fine — high quality
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — music
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wind — moving air
  23. staff — employees
  24. fine — all right

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