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 116 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: mine · bulb · pit · face · rule · swing · file · degree

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. swing — in golf
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bulb — for light
  8. rule — a law
  9. face — part of the head
  10. rule — government
  11. face — to confront
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. face — to point toward
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bulb — for light
  20. swing — to play on
  21. file — a tool
  22. swing — music
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

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