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: fork · game · pass · degree · clip · wake · bore · staff

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. game — a match
  3. clip — for paper
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. pass — a permit
  10. bore — to tire
  11. clip — to cut
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — a video
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wake — a trail
  19. staff — employees
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bore — to drill
  22. degree — from a university
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pass — to spend time

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