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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spell — magic
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bank — of a river
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — for money
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. spell — letters
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. fall — the season
  17. hand — in cards
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. degree — temperature

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