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: sharp · shower · degree · kid · clip · stem · fan · can

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. degree — an amount
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. can — a tin
  7. clip — a video
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. kid — to tease
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. sharp — clever
  24. shower — rain

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