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: cue · land · hand · season · degree · branch · rule · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rule — a law
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rule — government
  5. land — ground
  6. hand — help
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. land — a country
  9. branch — a division
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cue — for pool
  12. date — the fruit
  13. season — of the year
  14. hand — in cards
  15. season — in sport
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cue — a hint
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. land — to come down
  24. cue — a signal

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