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: stem · degree · swing · season · band · clip · shower · cap

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. band — a music group
  3. season — of the year
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. degree — an amount
  6. shower — to wash
  7. stem — to come from
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cap — a lid
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. season — in sport
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cap — a hat
  16. swing — music
  17. clip — for paper
  18. degree — from a university
  19. band — a ring
  20. swing — in golf
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cap — of ice

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