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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. pit — a hole
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. face — to point toward
  7. degree — an amount
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. net — in sport
  12. degree — from a university
  13. face — to confront
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. saw — the tool
  17. net — for catching
  18. degree — temperature
  19. net — after costs
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rush — hurry
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. face — part of the head

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