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: degree · tube · track · hand · wave · tear · cold · fan

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. track — to keep track
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. track — a song
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. tube — a container
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cold — an illness
  14. hand — help
  15. degree — temperature
  16. tear — to rip
  17. track — a path
  18. tube — the underground
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cold — not warm
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hand — in cards

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