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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. game — wild animals
  10. current — of water
  11. cold — an illness
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cold — not warm
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — electric
  17. cap — of ice
  18. deal — an agreement

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