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 120 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: last · branch · shower · present · mug · degree · chest · clip

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. present — the time now
  3. shower — to wash
  4. clip — for paper
  5. present — a gift
  6. mug — a face
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mug — a cup
  9. degree — an amount
  10. clip — to cut
  11. last — finally
  12. chest — of your body
  13. branch — a division
  14. last — final
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. last — to go on
  17. present — there
  18. chest — of your body
  19. clip — a video
  20. chest — a box
  21. degree — from a university
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. mug — to rob

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