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: mark · court · face · trunk · bat · rest · degree · roll

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. face — to confront
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. roll — a list
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. degree — an amount
  8. face — to point toward
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. roll — a cake
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. rest — what's left
  13. face — part of the head
  14. mark — a grade
  15. court — of a king
  16. rest — a break
  17. court — of law
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mark — a trace
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. degree — from a university

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