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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cue — a hint
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. season — in sport
  5. degree — temperature
  6. spring — of water
  7. cue — for pool
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. file — a line of people
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spring — the season
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. season — of the year
  14. file — a document
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. march — the month
  17. file — a tool
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cue — a signal
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. march — music
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. nail — for a hammer

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