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: content · leaves · cold · drill · row · shower · degree · present

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cold — an illness
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. degree — an amount
  7. shower — rain
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — a line
  11. present — the time now
  12. cold — not warm
  13. present — a gift
  14. drill — army training
  15. present — there
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. drill — the tool
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. content — happy
  20. shower — to wash
  21. drill — a practice
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cold — the Cold War

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