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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. degree — an amount
  5. key — the most important part
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cold — not warm
  11. key — in music
  12. bass — low music
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. degree — temperature
  15. content — happy
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. snap — to click
  18. key — for a lock
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bulb — for light
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. cold — an illness
  23. degree — from a university
  24. content — the amount

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