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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. season — of the year
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chest — of your body
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. date — the fruit
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. season — in sport
  9. mug — to rob
  10. chest — a box
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. chest — of your body
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. land — to come down
  17. rash — hasty
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mug — a cup
  20. land — ground
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rash — a series
  23. mug — a face
  24. prune — to trim

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