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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. degree — an amount
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fall — the season
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bass — the fish
  7. shower — rain
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chest — of your body
  13. field — farmland
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bank — of a river
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. bank — for money
  24. bass — low music

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