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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — hasty
  5. band — a ring
  6. pop — to visit
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. field — a subject
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. staff — a stick
  12. field — for sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. object — an aim
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. object — a thing
  17. field — farmland
  18. pop — soda
  19. staff — employees
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. object — to protest
  23. band — a music group
  24. pop — music

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