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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mug — a face
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mug — to rob
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bark — to shout
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spell — letters
  15. tear — to rip
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. mug — a cup
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bound — obliged
  24. degree — an amount

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