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 · degree · hand · chip · spring · staff · rule · lash

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. staff — employees
  3. rule — government
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. spring — the season
  7. wake — a trail
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. chip — to eat
  11. degree — from a university
  12. staff — employees
  13. hand — help
  14. spring — a coil
  15. degree — an amount
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. spring — of water
  18. staff — a stick
  19. hand — in cards
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. rule — a law
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. degree — temperature

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