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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bark — to shout
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. degree — temperature
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. current — happening now
  8. present — there
  9. current — electric
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. present — the time now
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. degree — an amount
  16. current — of water
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. present — a gift
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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