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 116 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. charge — electricity
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. court — of a king
  5. squash — to crush
  6. spring — of water
  7. charge — in control
  8. degree — temperature
  9. shower — rain
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. spring — a coil
  15. degree — an amount
  16. shower — to wash
  17. charge — a price
  18. degree — from a university
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. squash — the sport
  21. spring — the season
  22. court — of law
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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