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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. degree — temperature
  4. track — to keep track
  5. degree — from a university
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. degree — an amount
  14. march — the month
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. fork — in a road
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. mark — a trace
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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