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 120 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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bulb — for light
  7. net — after costs
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. degree — from a university
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. game — a match
  16. net — for catching
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. net — in sport
  22. wake — a trail
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cold — the Cold War

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