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: degree · game · pop · wake · face · lean · straw · fine

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pop — music
  4. lean — thin
  5. degree — from a university
  6. game — a match
  7. degree — an amount
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — high quality
  13. lean — to bend
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pop — soda
  18. wake — a trail
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — to point toward
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pop — to visit
  24. game — wild animals

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