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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. staff — a stick
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. band — a ring
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. staff — employees
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. staff — employees
  12. degree — from a university
  13. sharp — clever
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. plane — a tool
  24. band — a music group

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