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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. snap — to click
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — not warm
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bear — the animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. degree — from a university
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. degree — temperature

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