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 120 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. band — a ring
  3. charge — electricity
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rest — what's left
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. kid — child
  13. charge — in control
  14. degree — an amount
  15. charge — a price
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rest — what's left
  18. field — for sport
  19. fall — to drop
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. field — a subject
  22. band — a music group
  23. degree — temperature
  24. field — farmland

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