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: degree · plane · pound · saw · club · cold · wake · prune

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. degree — an amount
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. club — for dancing
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pound — a weight
  10. degree — temperature
  11. saw — the tool
  12. prune — to trim
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. cold — not warm
  16. plane — a tool
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wake — a trail
  22. prune — to trim
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. prune — the fruit

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