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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. present — a gift
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — boats
  5. rash — hasty
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. present — the time now
  12. file — a line of people
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. drill — the tool
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rest — what's left
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. file — a tool
  19. rash — a series
  20. deal — to handle
  21. degree — from a university
  22. file — a document
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. present — there

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