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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cell — in biology
  4. capital — money
  5. scale — in music
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bear — the animal
  12. snap — to click
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wake — a trail
  15. sharp — clever
  16. scale — size or range
  17. capital — a city
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. cell — a phone
  23. degree — temperature
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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