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: degree · deal · row · wind · leaves · land · fall · snap

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. row — a line
  5. degree — an amount
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. land — a country
  8. snap — to click
  9. row — to paddle
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. land — ground
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fall — the season
  18. land — to come down
  19. deal — to handle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fall — to drop
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. degree — from a university
  24. leaves — of a tree

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