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: mark · kid · spring · game · degree · hide · roll · last

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. spring — of water
  3. degree — from a university
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. spring — the season
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. kid — child
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. roll — a list
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. last — final
  16. spring — a coil
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. game — a match
  19. last — finally
  20. degree — an amount
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — a trace
  23. kid — to tease
  24. last — to go on

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