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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bound — obliged
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cell — a phone
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cell — in biology
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. march — the month
  12. mine — for digging
  13. staff — a stick
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. march — the month
  16. staff — employees
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. staff — employees
  21. bound — certain
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. march — music
  24. bound — tied together

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