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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mug — to rob
  3. cell — in biology
  4. face — part of the head
  5. mug — a face
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. degree — from a university
  8. march — music
  9. face — to confront
  10. spell — magic
  11. degree — temperature
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cell — a phone
  17. march — the month
  18. degree — an amount
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. mug — a cup
  22. spell — a short time
  23. march — the month
  24. nail — for a hammer

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