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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. charge — electricity
  4. stock — goods
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. charge — a price
  7. cold — not warm
  8. plane — a tool
  9. charge — in control
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cold — an illness
  13. degree — temperature
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bat — the animal
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. stock — shares
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. key — the most important part

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