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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. craft — a skill
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. tube — the underground
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. rest — what's left
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. stock — shares
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. tube — a container
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — goods
  24. trunk — of a tree

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