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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fall — the season
  3. stock — shares
  4. spell — letters
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. march — the month
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spell — a short time
  10. scale — in music
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wake — a trail
  18. stock — goods
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. spell — magic
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. stock — a soup base

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