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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. kid — child
  3. degree — from a university
  4. court — of law
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. band — a music group
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. firm — steady
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. firm — a company
  11. chair — a leader
  12. degree — temperature
  13. ball — a dance
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. band — a ring
  18. court — of a king
  19. ball — a great time
  20. court — for sport
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. degree — an amount
  23. firm — decided
  24. chair — to sit on

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