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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. degree — from a university
  4. stand — to bear
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rule — a law
  7. mine — for digging
  8. file — a document
  9. degree — an amount
  10. content — the amount
  11. file — a tool
  12. content — happy
  13. fall — the season
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rule — government
  17. face — part of the head
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. file — a line of people
  22. degree — temperature
  23. face — to point toward
  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