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: spring · chest · last · jam · chip · march · face · degree

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. march — music
  4. face — part of the head
  5. chip — to eat
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. degree — an amount
  12. spring — of water
  13. march — the month
  14. degree — from a university
  15. face — to point toward
  16. chip — for betting
  17. spring — a coil
  18. last — finally
  19. chest — a box
  20. degree — temperature
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. spring — the season
  24. march — the month

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