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: swing · cap · press · file · degree · race · chest · land

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. file — a document
  3. land — a country
  4. degree — from a university
  5. file — a line of people
  6. race — humankind
  7. file — a tool
  8. swing — music
  9. land — to come down
  10. chest — a box
  11. swing — to play on
  12. land — ground
  13. cap — a lid
  14. race — the arms race
  15. press — to push
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. swing — in golf
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. degree — an amount

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