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: current · straw · tear · key · face · land · wound · degree

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. tear — from crying
  3. key — in music
  4. land — a country
  5. tear — from crying
  6. face — part of the head
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. current — electric
  9. tear — to rip
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. current — happening now
  12. land — to come down
  13. key — for a lock
  14. degree — from a university
  15. face — to confront
  16. current — of water
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. land — ground
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wound — an injury
  23. degree — an amount
  24. face — to point toward

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