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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  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. snap — to click
  2. last — finally
  3. board — a committee
  4. degree — temperature
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. drill — a practice
  7. object — to protest
  8. last — final
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. root — of a word
  11. drill — army training
  12. degree — from a university
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. last — to go on
  15. root — the cause
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. object — an aim
  18. board — to get on
  19. object — a thing
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bass — low music
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bass — the fish
  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