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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cap — a lid
  3. march — music
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. fall — the season
  6. degree — temperature
  7. march — the month
  8. bat — the animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. fall — to drop
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cap — a hat
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cap — of ice
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. march — the month
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. spring — the season

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