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 120 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: degree · rule · content · march · wake · fork · bank · game

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. degree — an amount
  4. game — wild animals
  5. content — happy
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fork — in a road
  9. march — the month
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. game — a match
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bank — for money
  14. content — the amount
  15. march — music
  16. rule — government
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rule — a law
  19. march — the month
  20. wake — a trail
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. degree — from a university

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