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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. degree — temperature
  3. fall — to drop
  4. clip — to cut
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — in control
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fall — to drop
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. band — a music group
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bark — to shout
  16. charge — electricity
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. band — a ring
  20. clip — a video
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. fall — the season
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. clip — for paper

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