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: stock · temple · bulb · wound · clip · degree · key · spring

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. clip — a video
  7. degree — from a university
  8. clip — to cut
  9. spring — of water
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. degree — temperature
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. key — the most important part
  18. spring — the season
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bulb — for light
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. spring — a coil

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