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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bank — of a river
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bank — for money
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cold — not warm
  9. firm — decided
  10. spring — of water
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. spell — magic
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. spring — the season
  16. firm — steady
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. spring — a coil
  19. perch — the fish
  20. firm — a company
  21. cold — an illness
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bank — for money

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