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

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. 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. kid — to tease
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fall — to drop
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. degree — from a university
  9. court — for sport
  10. craft — boats
  11. stock — goods
  12. craft — a skill
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. kid — child
  18. 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