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

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. degree — temperature
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wound — an injury
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. object — a thing
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. degree — an amount
  14. object — an aim
  15. band — a ring
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. snap — to click
  19. wound — an injury
  20. object — to protest
  21. stand — to bear
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. degree — from a university
  24. band — a music group

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