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

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cap — of ice
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cap — a lid
  12. degree — temperature
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bear — the animal
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. cold — an illness

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