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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cap — of ice
  4. track — to keep track
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. track — a path
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cap — a hat
  11. degree — an amount
  12. can — a tin
  13. chest — a box
  14. face — to confront
  15. cap — a lid
  16. face — to point toward
  17. track — a song
  18. degree — from a university
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. file — a line of people
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chest — of your body
  23. can — a tin
  24. face — part of the head

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