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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rash — a series
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. court — for sport
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. land — ground
  8. bore — to tire
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bore — to drill
  13. rule — government
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — a law
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. court — of law
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. degree — temperature

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