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: tear · racket · stem · mate · bat · sharp · fork · degree

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. degree — temperature
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bat — the animal
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. mate — to breed
  14. sharp — clever
  15. mate — a partner
  16. degree — an amount
  17. tear — from crying
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — a garden tool

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