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: cold · drill · degree · shower · craft · stock · content · fork

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. drill — the tool
  3. content — the amount
  4. stock — goods
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. shower — rain
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. cold — an illness
  9. drill — a practice
  10. fork — in a road
  11. stock — shares
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. drill — army training
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. craft — a skill
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. degree — an amount
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cold — not warm
  23. content — happy
  24. craft — boats

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