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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. face — to point toward
  3. row — a line
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. club — for dancing
  10. face — part of the head
  11. squash — the sport
  12. face — to confront
  13. row — to paddle
  14. degree — temperature
  15. club — for golf
  16. wake — a trail
  17. degree — an amount
  18. club — a group

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