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 116 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. degree — from a university
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. degree — an amount
  8. race — humankind
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. tube — the underground
  12. race — a contest
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — a friend
  16. race — the arms race
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. fall — to drop
  19. capital — money
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. degree — temperature
  22. tube — a container
  23. fall — to drop
  24. snap — to click

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