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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. bound — certain
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. drill — army training
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bound — obliged
  11. degree — from a university
  12. court — for sport
  13. stand — to bear
  14. club — for golf
  15. court — of law
  16. wind — moving air
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. band — a music group
  21. drill — a practice
  22. court — of a king
  23. band — a ring
  24. drill — the tool

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