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 · band · file · content · land · game · roll · plane

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. degree — temperature
  3. land — to come down
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. roll — a cake
  7. land — ground
  8. content — the amount
  9. roll — a list
  10. game — wild animals
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. band — a ring
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. degree — from a university
  15. file — a document
  16. degree — an amount
  17. file — a line of people
  18. game — a match
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. band — a music group
  21. content — happy
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. land — a country
  24. plane — a tool

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