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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. land — to come down
  4. band — a music group
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. band — a ring
  10. land — ground
  11. drill — the tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. drill — a practice
  15. land — a country
  16. chair — a leader
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. drill — army training
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wind — moving air

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