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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wax — to grow
  6. content — the amount
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cell — a phone
  11. scale — in music
  12. face — to point toward
  13. scale — size or range
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. suit — to fit
  17. file — a tool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. face — to confront
  21. file — a document
  22. degree — an amount
  23. suit — clothes
  24. suit — in cards

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