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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. suit — to fit
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. spring — of water
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — an amount
  9. snap — to click
  10. suit — in cards
  11. game — a match
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. degree — temperature
  14. game — wild animals
  15. degree — from a university
  16. spring — a coil
  17. branch — a division
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. suit — clothes
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wake — a trail

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