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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. degree — temperature
  3. club — a group
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. season — in sport
  6. game — wild animals
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. club — for golf
  9. season — of the year
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. club — for dancing
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tube — the underground
  16. game — a match
  17. cell — in biology
  18. lie — to recline
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cold — an illness
  24. tube — a container

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