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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. shower — to wash
  3. degree — temperature
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. degree — an amount
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. hand — help
  15. face — to point toward
  16. degree — from a university
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. pit — in a race
  20. shower — rain
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pit — a hole

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