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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. march — music
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. saw — the tool
  5. charge — electricity
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — temperature
  9. march — the month
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. perch — the fish
  16. charge — in control
  17. snap — to click
  18. race — humankind
  19. charge — a price
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. saw — the tool
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. degree — from a university
  24. perch — for a bird

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