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: bat · degree · fine · cell · pass · pop · vault · capital

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pop — soda
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pass — a permit
  7. fine — all right
  8. degree — temperature
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pop — to visit
  12. vault — a safe
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pop — music
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cell — in biology
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. fine — high quality
  22. capital — money
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. capital — a city

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