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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. field — a subject
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bound — obliged
  6. swing — music
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bound — tied together
  10. swing — in golf
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. swing — to play on
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. field — farmland
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bound — certain
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. field — for sport
  24. pitch — completely

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