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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. ball — a dance
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. spring — the season
  12. net — in sport
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chair — a leader
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bulb — for light
  23. kick — in football
  24. degree — an amount

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