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 116 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: degree · band · cold · stick · rash · branch · lash · ground

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. branch — a division
  4. band — a ring
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. rash — hasty
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cold — not warm
  13. ground — the earth
  14. rash — a series
  15. band — a music group
  16. ground — crushed
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. ground — a position
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. branch — of a tree

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