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 120 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 · cold · shower · degree · vault · capital · mouse · scale

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. scale — size or range
  3. capital — money
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. cold — not warm
  6. shower — to wash
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cold — an illness
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. vault — a safe
  17. scale — in music
  18. snap — to click
  19. shower — rain
  20. capital — a city
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. degree — an amount

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