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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bear — the animal
  8. degree — temperature
  9. land — ground
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chip — for betting
  12. land — a country
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. degree — from a university
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. land — to come down
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stem — to come from
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chest — a box
  22. chip — to eat
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bear — the animal

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