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: file · chest · row · cue · plane · degree · leaves · snap

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cue — a signal
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cue — for pool
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cue — a hint
  15. degree — temperature
  16. row — to paddle
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to click
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. row — a line
  23. chest — a box
  24. leaves — of a tree

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