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: tear · row · spring · key · rush · degree · wind · coach

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rush — hurry
  3. spring — a coil
  4. tear — to rip
  5. degree — an amount
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. row — a line
  9. wind — moving air
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. key — the most important part
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. key — for a lock
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. key — in music

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