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: press · shower · band · degree · mate · swing

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. mate — a friend
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. press — a publisher
  9. swing — to play on
  10. band — a ring
  11. shower — rain
  12. swing — in golf
  13. band — a music group
  14. press — newspapers
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. press — to push
  18. band — a rubber band

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