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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. staff — a stick
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mine — for digging
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. wax — to grow
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. prune — to trim
  14. degree — an amount
  15. staff — employees
  16. march — music
  17. prune — to trim
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — to crush
  20. deal — to handle
  21. staff — employees
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. deal — an agreement

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