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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — temperature
  3. track — to keep track
  4. present — a gift
  5. tear — from crying
  6. present — there
  7. tear — from crying
  8. land — to come down
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wound — an injury
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. spell — a short time
  15. track — a path
  16. track — a song
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. spell — magic
  20. present — the time now
  21. degree — an amount
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. spell — letters
  24. snap — to click

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