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: hide · wave · cold · degree · stick · stem

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. degree — temperature
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. stick — a piece of wood

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