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 116 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: band · spring · perch · snap · cold · calf · degree · charge

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. spring — a coil
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. degree — an amount
  5. charge — in control
  6. band — a music group
  7. charge — electricity
  8. spring — of water
  9. perch — the fish
  10. degree — from a university
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. degree — temperature
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. band — a ring
  19. snap — to click
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spring — the season
  22. cold — not warm
  23. charge — a price
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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