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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bark — to shout
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. face — to point toward
  15. rush — hurry
  16. band — a music group
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. degree — temperature

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