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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. shower — rain
  3. bulb — for light
  4. roll — a list
  5. squash — to crush
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. file — a document
  9. bulb — for light
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. shower — to wash
  16. degree — from a university
  17. toast — bread
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. mine — for digging
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. roll — a cake
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mine — an explosive

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