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: degree · nail · capital · row · kick · march

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. 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. kick — a thrill
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. march — music
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. kick — in football
  9. row — a line
  10. degree — an amount
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. degree — from a university
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. 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