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: fall · game · club · track · face · degree · tear · net

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. degree — temperature
  3. net — after costs
  4. club — for dancing
  5. game — wild animals
  6. face — to confront
  7. club — a group
  8. track — a path
  9. fall — to drop
  10. degree — an amount
  11. club — for golf
  12. degree — from a university
  13. net — in sport
  14. track — to keep track
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. game — a match
  18. tear — to rip
  19. track — a song
  20. net — for catching
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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