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: cue · degree · object · march · tear · fall · leaves · kid

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. march — music
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cue — a signal
  5. fall — the season
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cue — a hint
  8. object — a thing
  9. fall — to drop
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. degree — temperature
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fall — to drop
  14. object — an aim
  15. tear — from crying
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cue — for pool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. kid — child
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. march — the month
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. object — to protest
  24. march — the month

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