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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. face — to confront
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. swing — to play on
  8. ball — a great time
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rock — music
  11. cell — in biology
  12. degree — temperature
  13. march — the month
  14. rock — a stone
  15. cue — a signal
  16. face — part of the head
  17. swing — in golf
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cue — for pool
  20. swing — music
  21. march — music
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. march — the month
  24. rock — to move gently

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