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

Word bank: rule · mate · land · snap · current · degree · game · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. current — of water
  4. mate — a partner
  5. current — happening now
  6. mate — a friend
  7. land — a country
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. degree — from a university
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rule — a law
  13. degree — temperature
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rule — government
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. game — a match
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mate — to breed
  24. current — electric

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