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: clip · spell · staff · rock · current · mate · row · degree

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. staff — employees
  3. mate — a partner
  4. clip — to cut
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. mate — to breed
  8. row — a line
  9. rock — a stone
  10. spell — magic
  11. staff — employees
  12. current — of water
  13. mate — a friend
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. degree — from a university
  16. row — to paddle
  17. clip — for paper
  18. current — happening now
  19. clip — a video
  20. rock — music
  21. staff — a stick
  22. current — electric
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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