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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. content — the amount
  3. cap — a lid
  4. scale — in music
  5. degree — from a university
  6. key — the most important part
  7. scale — size or range
  8. key — for a lock
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. degree — an amount
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. content — happy
  17. cap — of ice
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. degree — temperature
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — completely
  23. key — in music
  24. content — videos and posts

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