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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. face — to confront
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — temperature
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cue — a signal
  9. kid — to tease
  10. face — to point toward
  11. branch — a division
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cue — a hint
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — from a university
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chest — a box
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. kid — child
  20. perch — the fish
  21. face — part of the head
  22. degree — an amount
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. branch — of a tree

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