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: swing · temple · shower · hand · root · stock · pitcher · degree

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. degree — from a university
  4. stock — shares
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — the cause
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. degree — an amount
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. hand — in cards
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. shower — to wash
  21. degree — temperature
  22. swing — to play on
  23. stock — goods
  24. shower — rain

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