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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. charge — a price
  3. degree — from a university
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. file — a document
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. cold — an illness
  13. season — in sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. file — a tool
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. land — to come down
  18. file — a line of people
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. charge — in control
  23. charge — electricity
  24. arm — part of the body

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