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: spring · net · vault · bass · snap · degree · bound · straw

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. net — in sport
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — a safe
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. degree — from a university
  10. snap — to click
  11. bound — obliged
  12. degree — temperature
  13. spring — a coil
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bass — low music
  17. bound — certain
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bound — tied together
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. bass — the fish
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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