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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. land — to come down
  6. wake — a trail
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. snap — to click
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. field — farmland
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. field — for sport
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. march — music
  23. field — a subject
  24. fall — to drop

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