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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pop — music
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pop — soda
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. shower — rain
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. degree — an amount
  11. tear — to rip
  12. march — the month
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. ball — a dance
  16. march — the month
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. tear — from crying
  21. degree — from a university
  22. tear — from crying
  23. degree — temperature
  24. march — music

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