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: wake · fine · craft · spring · degree · chest · content · cap

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. degree — an amount
  4. spring — the season
  5. degree — temperature
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fine — high quality
  8. spring — of water
  9. craft — boats
  10. degree — from a university
  11. content — happy
  12. cap — of ice
  13. chest — a box
  14. cap — a hat
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. content — the amount
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. spring — a coil
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cap — a lid
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wake — a trail
  23. fine — all right
  24. chest — of your body

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