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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cue — a signal
  3. court — for sport
  4. rash — hasty
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. spell — letters
  7. cue — for pool
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. snap — to click
  10. spell — magic
  11. cue — a hint
  12. rash — a series
  13. court — of a king
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mine — for digging
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. degree — from a university
  22. court — of law
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. spell — a short time

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