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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ruler · cold · cell · fall · degree · chip

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chip — to eat
  5. fall — to drop
  6. degree — temperature
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. fall — the season
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. degree — from a university
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cell — in biology

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