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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. degree — an amount
  6. race — a contest
  7. toast — bread
  8. object — to protest
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. court — of a king
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. degree — from a university
  13. court — of law
  14. race — the arms race
  15. degree — temperature
  16. race — humankind
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — an aim
  20. cold — an illness
  21. band — a ring
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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