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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bound — obliged
  4. court — of a king
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. swing — in golf
  7. court — of law
  8. mine — for digging
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. pop — music
  11. bound — certain
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pop — soda
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pop — to visit
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. swing — music
  20. snap — to click
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. degree — from a university

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