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 · wound · content · foot · date · game · face · board

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. degree — from a university
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. board — a committee
  6. face — part of the head
  7. degree — an amount
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. board — to get on
  10. game — a match
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wound — an injury
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. content — happy
  15. foot — a measure
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. date — the fruit
  19. wound — an injury
  20. game — wild animals
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — to point toward
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. date — on the calendar

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