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: ruler · lean · degree · arm · march · chest · cold · pound

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. lean — thin
  3. degree — an amount
  4. march — the month
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lean — to bend
  8. pound — a weight
  9. chest — a box
  10. degree — from a university
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. march — the month
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cold — not warm
  21. march — music
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lean — to rest against

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