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

Word bank: face · cell · degree · chest · game · lash · tear · board

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — an amount
  5. tear — from crying
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. face — to confront
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cell — in biology
  12. chest — of your body
  13. face — part of the head
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. chest — a box
  16. game — a match
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. face — to point toward
  19. tear — from crying
  20. board — a committee
  21. degree — temperature
  22. game — wild animals
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. board — to get on

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