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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wind — moving air
  8. snap — to click
  9. face — to confront
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. suit — in cards
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — clothes

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