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: trunk · spring · track · mine · degree · wave · rush · land

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. land — to come down
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. track — a path
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. spring — of water
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. spring — the season
  14. land — ground
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. mine — for digging
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. land — a country
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rush — hurry
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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