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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. court — of law
  3. squash — the sport
  4. scale — in music
  5. drill — the tool
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. degree — temperature
  8. drill — army training
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. court — for sport
  13. spring — of water
  14. degree — an amount
  15. drill — a practice
  16. rush — hurry
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. court — of a king
  24. scale — size or range

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