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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. band — a music group
  3. saw — the tool
  4. degree — temperature
  5. kid — child
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stem — to come from
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. band — a ring
  12. saw — the tool
  13. degree — an amount
  14. tube — the underground
  15. roll — a cake
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. degree — from a university
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. wind — moving air
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. kid — to tease
  23. tube — a container
  24. stem — of a plant

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