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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. land — a country
  4. ground — the earth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ground — a position
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. land — to come down
  11. rash — a series
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. land — ground
  15. wake — a trail
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bulb — for light
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. bulb — for light
  20. clip — a video
  21. degree — from a university
  22. clip — to cut
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bulb — of a plant

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