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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a great time
  10. degree — an amount
  11. land — ground
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. rush — hurry
  15. land — to come down
  16. key — in music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. key — the most important part
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. key — for a lock
  23. land — a country
  24. snap — to click

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