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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. spring — of water
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. spring — a coil
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. kick — in football
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. court — of law
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. spring — the season
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. degree — from a university
  18. court — of a king
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bank — for money
  22. degree — temperature
  23. court — for sport
  24. degree — an amount

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