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 · pitcher · pound · shower · bark · degree · wound · roll

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. roll — a list
  6. wound — an injury
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. roll — a cake
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wound — an injury
  14. shower — rain
  15. bark — to shout
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pound — a weight

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