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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chest — of your body
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spell — a short time
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. pitch — completely
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cap — a lid
  16. branch — a division
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spell — magic
  19. chest — a box
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. spell — letters
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. wake — a trail

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