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: bark · cold · pitcher · bore · degree · cell · season · saw

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cell — a phone
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bore — to tire
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cold — not warm
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cell — in biology
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. season — in sport
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. season — of the year

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