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 120 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: degree · dip · pop · bay · trunk · chest · cold · cap

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. chest — of your body
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cap — a lid
  17. chest — a box
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. pop — music
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. degree — temperature

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