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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. swing — to play on
  3. race — a contest
  4. fine — all right
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. degree — temperature
  7. race — the arms race
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a dance
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. net — after costs
  12. field — a subject
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. swing — in golf
  15. net — in sport
  16. field — for sport
  17. race — humankind
  18. swing — music
  19. fine — high quality
  20. degree — from a university
  21. net — for catching
  22. degree — an amount
  23. ball — a great time
  24. field — farmland

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