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 120 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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. key — for a lock
  3. board — to get on
  4. key — the most important part
  5. race — the arms race
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. race — a contest
  8. cold — an illness
  9. snap — to click
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. board — a committee
  12. key — in music
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. degree — temperature
  15. race — humankind
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. prune — to trim
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. dip — to sink
  21. cold — not warm
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. degree — an amount

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