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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. deal — a big deal
  2. pit — in a race
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. deal — to handle
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. face — to point toward
  10. plane — a tool
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. court — of law
  15. pit — a hole
  16. court — of a king
  17. face — to confront
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. wind — moving air
  22. court — for sport
  23. spring — the season
  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