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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bore — to tire
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — a series
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cap — a hat
  14. snap — to click
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rash — hasty
  17. game — a match
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cap — a lid
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — gave birth

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