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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pound · race · snap · bear · spell · degree

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. spell — letters
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. spell — magic
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pound — a weight
  7. race — the arms race
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. spell — a short time
  13. snap — to click
  14. bear — the animal
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pound — for dogs

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