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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. club — for dancing
  3. kid — child
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. degree — from a university
  6. club — for golf
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. kid — to tease
  10. court — of law
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cold — an illness
  13. club — a group
  14. degree — temperature
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. court — of a king
  19. ball — a dance
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cold — not warm
  22. court — for sport
  23. vault — a safe
  24. ball — a great time

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