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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cap — of ice
  3. court — for sport
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. court — of law
  9. cap — a lid
  10. clip — for paper
  11. current — electric
  12. land — to come down
  13. current — of water
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. degree — an amount
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — a video
  18. current — happening now
  19. band — a ring
  20. cap — a hat
  21. band — a music group
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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