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: root · degree · cell · face · bay · sharp · tear · rule

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. rule — a law
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. cell — in biology
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. root — of a word
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. face — to confront
  12. root — the cause
  13. tear — from crying
  14. face — to point toward
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. face — part of the head
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. tear — to rip
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bay — a horse colour

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