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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. mark — a trace
  7. degree — temperature
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wake — a trail
  10. press — newspapers
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. row — a line
  16. mark — a grade
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. cap — a lid
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — of ice
  23. press — to push
  24. row — to paddle

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