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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. cue — a hint
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. degree — temperature
  8. track — a path
  9. drill — army training
  10. ground — a position
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mug — a face
  13. cue — for pool
  14. mug — a cup
  15. capital — money
  16. degree — an amount
  17. drill — a practice
  18. chest — a box
  19. ground — the earth
  20. track — a song
  21. drill — the tool
  22. ground — crushed
  23. capital — a city
  24. cue — a signal

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