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: mine · roll · court · nail · snap · wake · shower · spring

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — a trail
  4. court — of law
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. court — for sport
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. shower — to wash
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. snap — to click
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mine — for digging
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — a cake
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. spring — the season
  22. court — of a king
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wake — before a funeral

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