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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — for money
  6. bulb — for light
  7. content — happy
  8. cue — for pool
  9. bank — of a river
  10. cold — an illness
  11. can — to be able to
  12. cue — a hint
  13. can — a tin
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cue — a signal
  17. can — a tin
  18. content — the amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bulb — for light
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. cold — the Cold War

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