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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pit — in a race
  5. charge — a price
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. capital — a city
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. perch — the fish
  10. chair — a leader
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. capital — money
  14. charge — electricity
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pit — a hole
  17. face — to confront
  18. degree — temperature
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. charge — in control
  23. date — the fruit
  24. chair — to sit on

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