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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. stand — to bear
  4. cold — not warm
  5. degree — temperature
  6. ground — a position
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. ground — the earth
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. cap — a lid
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cap — a hat
  21. ground — crushed
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cold — an illness
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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