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: current · patient · spell · clip · stem · degree · board · row

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. spell — magic
  4. clip — a video
  5. spell — a short time
  6. current — of water
  7. row — to paddle
  8. current — happening now
  9. board — a committee
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. row — a line
  13. spell — letters
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. degree — temperature
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. current — electric
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. clip — for paper

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