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: file · fan · cold · charge · bass · staff · degree · spring

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. staff — employees
  3. degree — temperature
  4. spring — the season
  5. degree — from a university
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bass — low music
  9. spring — of water
  10. file — a document
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. charge — a price
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. file — a tool
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bass — the fish
  19. file — a line of people
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — in control
  22. degree — an amount
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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