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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. degree — temperature
  3. race — humankind
  4. file — a tool
  5. band — a music group
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. face — part of the head
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fork — in a road
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. file — a document
  15. race — the arms race
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. file — a line of people
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. band — a ring
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. race — a contest

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