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: mug · hand · temple · squash · degree · shower · cell · rock

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mug — a face
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. rock — music
  8. mug — to rob
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. rock — a stone
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. shower — rain
  14. squash — to crush
  15. mug — a cup
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cell — a phone
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cell — in biology
  22. hand — help
  23. shower — to wash
  24. squash — the sport

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