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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mine — for digging
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. march — the month
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fork — in a road
  8. current — happening now
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. degree — temperature
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. march — music
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. current — electric
  21. march — the month
  22. degree — an amount
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. current — of water

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