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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. court — for sport
  4. spring — the season
  5. club — a group
  6. degree — from a university
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. degree — temperature
  10. spring — of water
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. hand — help
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — for golf
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ball — a great time
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hand — in cards
  19. court — of a king
  20. spring — a coil
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. court — of law
  23. tear — from crying
  24. ball — a dance

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