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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. degree — an amount
  3. court — of a king
  4. hand — help
  5. court — for sport
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. season — in sport
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rash — hasty
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rash — a series
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pound — a weight
  17. court — of law
  18. rash — on the skin

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