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 water is too ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. march — the month
  3. suit — clothes
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cell — a phone
  10. content — the amount
  11. suit — to fit
  12. suit — in cards
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wind — moving air
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wind — moving air
  18. march — music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cold — an illness
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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