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 120 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: pop · degree · snap · march · last · lean · mug · land

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mug — to rob
  3. snap — to click
  4. march — the month
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. mug — a cup
  7. last — to go on
  8. degree — from a university
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — thin
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — music
  13. mug — a face
  14. degree — temperature
  15. land — ground
  16. last — finally
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. pop — soda
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. last — final
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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