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: straw · stem · degree · kick · row · clip · bank · present

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. degree — an amount
  3. clip — a video
  4. stem — to come from
  5. present — a gift
  6. row — to paddle
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bank — for money
  14. row — a line
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. present — the time now
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. present — there
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bank — for money
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bank — of a river
  24. kick — a thrill

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