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 120 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 · game · clip · track · degree · hide · pitcher · pound

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — from a university
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. track — to keep track
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. track — a song
  9. clip — to cut
  10. degree — temperature
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. clip — for paper
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. clip — a video
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pound — a weight
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. track — a path

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