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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. degree — temperature
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chest — a box
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. degree — an amount
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. prune — to trim
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. tear — from crying
  12. capital — a city
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pitch — completely
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bulb — for light
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. chest — of your body
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. capital — money

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