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 116 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: straw · file · hide · band · object · degree · wind · bore

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. degree — from a university
  4. band — a music group
  5. degree — temperature
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bore — to drill
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. object — to protest
  14. file — a tool
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. object — a thing
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. object — an aim
  19. wind — moving air
  20. file — a line of people
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. file — a document
  23. band — a ring
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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