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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — magic
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — a short time
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. degree — from a university
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. degree — an amount
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. degree — temperature
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wind — moving air

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