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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. firm — a company
  3. file — a tool
  4. firm — steady
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. capital — a city
  7. bat — the animal
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. track — a path
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. track — a song
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. kick — in football
  15. track — to keep track
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. degree — an amount
  18. file — a line of people
  19. stem — to come from
  20. firm — decided
  21. degree — temperature
  22. file — a document
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. kick — with a leg

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