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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. rash — a series
  3. degree — an amount
  4. net — after costs
  5. pop — soda
  6. net — in sport
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — hurry
  9. court — of law
  10. spring — of water
  11. net — for catching
  12. degree — from a university
  13. court — of a king
  14. pop — to visit
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pop — music
  17. spring — the season
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. court — for sport
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. spring — a coil

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