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: snap · mine · degree · rock · ball · bound · cell · hide

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bound — obliged
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bound — tied together
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bound — certain
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rock — a stone
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cell — a phone
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mine — for digging
  19. ball — a great time
  20. cell — in biology
  21. degree — temperature
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cell — in a prison

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