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: cold · spell · degree · trunk · branch · fine · snap · ball

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fine — all right
  4. spell — magic
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. spell — letters
  9. degree — temperature
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. spell — a short time
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. snap — to click
  21. ball — a dance
  22. branch — a division
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ball — a great time

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