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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rule — government
  3. staff — employees
  4. court — of law
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. file — a tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. degree — temperature
  18. court — for sport
  19. drill — army training
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. degree — an amount
  22. drill — a practice
  23. rule — a law
  24. file — a document

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