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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. face — part of the head
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. content — happy
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. degree — temperature
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. rest — a break
  11. content — the amount
  12. rest — what's left
  13. file — a line of people
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bat — the animal
  16. file — a document
  17. rest — what's left
  18. file — a tool
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. face — to confront

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