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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. spring — a coil
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bear — the animal
  6. spring — of water
  7. degree — from a university
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. spring — the season
  11. degree — an amount
  12. snap — to click
  13. drill — the tool
  14. ball — a dance
  15. drill — army training
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. ball — a great time
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bear — to put up with

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