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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. roll — a list
  5. board — to get on
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. degree — from a university
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. content — happy
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. degree — temperature
  17. roll — a cake
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. board — a committee
  20. content — the amount
  21. cold — an illness
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. degree — an amount
  24. trunk — of a car

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