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: club · stand · land · shower · scale · cap · deal · degree

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. club — for golf
  3. degree — an amount
  4. land — a country
  5. shower — to wash
  6. deal — to handle
  7. cap — a lid
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. land — ground
  14. degree — temperature
  15. club — a group
  16. land — to come down
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. club — for dancing
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. shower — rain
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. cap — of ice

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