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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. drill — a practice
  4. stock — shares
  5. object — an aim
  6. drill — army training
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mine — for digging
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. date — the fruit
  12. court — of law
  13. object — to protest
  14. court — for sport
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. court — of a king
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. drill — the tool
  23. object — a thing
  24. stock — goods

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