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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. degree — from a university
  3. current — happening now
  4. plane — a tool
  5. march — music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. prune — to trim
  8. degree — temperature
  9. march — the month
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. march — the month
  13. cold — an illness
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. clip — a video
  16. current — of water
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. clip — for paper
  22. degree — an amount
  23. spell — magic
  24. cold — not warm

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