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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. march — music
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fall — to drop
  6. key — in music
  7. degree — from a university
  8. fall — the season
  9. march — the month
  10. clip — for paper
  11. hand — in cards
  12. key — for a lock
  13. march — the month
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. hand — help
  17. bank — for money
  18. clip — to cut
  19. key — the most important part
  20. degree — an amount
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — of a river
  24. clip — a video

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