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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — thin
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. roll — a cake
  6. degree — from a university
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — a contest
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. spell — a short time
  14. face — to point toward
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. degree — an amount
  17. face — part of the head
  18. degree — temperature
  19. face — to confront
  20. race — humankind
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. wind — moving air
  24. trunk — of a tree

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