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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chest — of your body
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. ball — a dance
  5. capital — a city
  6. track — a song
  7. capital — money
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. degree — an amount
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. plane — a tool
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. track — to keep track
  17. degree — from a university
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chest — of your body
  20. toast — bread
  21. track — a path
  22. game — a match
  23. chest — a box
  24. ball — a great time

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