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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chest — of your body
  3. shower — to wash
  4. ground — the earth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. face — part of the head
  7. degree — from a university
  8. shower — rain
  9. face — to confront
  10. ground — a position
  11. lie — to recline
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ground — crushed
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. capital — money
  17. face — to point toward
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. degree — temperature
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. capital — a city
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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