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: saw · game · band · cap · content · spell · rush · degree

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rush — hurry
  3. game — wild animals
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. spell — a short time
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. spell — magic
  12. saw — the tool
  13. band — a ring
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cap — a hat
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. band — a music group
  19. content — the amount
  20. cap — of ice
  21. content — happy
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cap — a lid

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