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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · degree · shower · cell · date · toast

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. date — the fruit
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. shower — rain
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pit — in a race
  10. shower — to wash
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. degree — an amount
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. degree — temperature
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cell — in biology
  18. toast — a drink to someone

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