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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rash — hasty
  3. court — of law
  4. swing — to play on
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. swing — in golf
  9. club — for dancing
  10. court — of a king
  11. press — newspapers
  12. degree — from a university
  13. net — for catching
  14. court — for sport
  15. spell — a short time
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rash — a series
  18. press — a publisher
  19. swing — music
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — letters
  22. club — for golf
  23. press — to push
  24. club — a group

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