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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. net — for catching
  3. degree — an amount
  4. court — of a king
  5. rash — a series
  6. last — final
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — in sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rash — hasty
  12. last — to go on
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. court — of law
  15. object — an aim
  16. degree — temperature
  17. object — to protest
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. net — after costs
  20. court — for sport
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. object — a thing
  23. last — finally
  24. chest — a box

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