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: chest · prune · bound · face · row · cue · degree · drill

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bound — obliged
  4. cue — a hint
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bound — certain
  8. cue — a signal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. row — to paddle
  12. face — to confront
  13. drill — a practice
  14. degree — temperature
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cue — for pool
  17. chest — a box
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to point toward
  21. drill — army training
  22. bound — tied together
  23. row — a line
  24. degree — an amount

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