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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mate — a friend
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bass — low music
  7. mate — a partner
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. mate — to breed
  10. stock — goods
  11. charge — electricity
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bass — the fish
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chest — of your body
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. charge — in control
  19. kick — in football
  20. charge — a price
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. chest — a box

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