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 124 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  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. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — a phone
  3. snap — to click
  4. tube — the underground
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cell — in biology
  7. clip — to cut
  8. degree — an amount
  9. tube — a container
  10. clip — a video
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — decided
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. game — wild animals
  17. degree — temperature
  18. clip — for paper
  19. game — a match
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. firm — steady
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. perch — the fish
  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