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: cabinet · mine · drill · degree · content · pop · deal · face

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pop — music
  3. content — the amount
  4. pop — soda
  5. face — part of the head
  6. pop — to visit
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. deal — to handle
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. drill — the tool
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. mine — for digging
  13. degree — from a university
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. content — happy
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. degree — temperature
  21. drill — army training
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. drill — a practice
  24. face — to confront

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