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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. chair — a leader
  4. club — a group
  5. mine — for digging
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. face — part of the head
  9. track — a path
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. club — for dancing
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. club — for golf
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. track — a song
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. degree — from a university
  23. track — to keep track
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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