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 120 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  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. court — for sport
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. spell — letters
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. row — a line
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. court — of a king
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. degree — temperature
  13. spell — a short time
  14. court — of law
  15. row — to paddle
  16. degree — from a university
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. spell — magic
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. snap — to click
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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