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 120 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cell — a phone
  5. spring — of water
  6. rest — what's left
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. rest — a break
  10. band — a music group
  11. fork — in a road
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — to grow
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. spring — the season
  20. pass — a permit
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. rest — what's left
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spring — a coil

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