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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cold — not warm
  4. face — to confront
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. rash — hasty
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. degree — temperature
  10. face — to point toward
  11. capital — a city
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. lean — thin
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. capital — money
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. rash — a series
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. face — part of the head
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cold — an illness

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