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 120 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. row — a line
  2. court — of a king
  3. prune — to trim
  4. drill — the tool
  5. current — of water
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. chip — to eat
  8. track — a path
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. court — for sport
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. current — happening now
  15. track — to keep track
  16. court — of law
  17. track — a song
  18. chip — for betting
  19. current — electric
  20. degree — from a university
  21. drill — a practice
  22. degree — an amount
  23. drill — army training
  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