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 120 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: kid · cold · band · bulb · pitch · rock · degree · plane

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. band — a ring
  3. pitch — completely
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rock — music
  7. band — a music group
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. degree — temperature
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bulb — for light
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bulb — for light

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