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

Word bank: degree · chair · fine · race · kick · file

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. file — a tool
  3. chair — a leader
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. race — humankind
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. race — the arms race
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. race — a contest
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. kick — in football
  12. file — a line of people
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. degree — from a university
  16. fine — all right
  17. degree — an amount
  18. file — a document

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