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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. snap — to click
  3. suit — to fit
  4. field — for sport
  5. degree — an amount
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. cold — not warm
  13. race — a contest
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. degree — temperature
  17. suit — in cards
  18. race — the arms race
  19. suit — clothes
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. race — humankind
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. degree — from a university

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