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: snap · degree · fan · tear · land · bound · wake · prune

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. land — ground
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bound — certain
  6. snap — to click
  7. land — to come down
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — obliged
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. tear — to rip
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. degree — temperature
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. land — a country
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wake — a trail
  19. tear — from crying
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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