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 124 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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. swing — music
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. court — of a king
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. key — in music
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mine — for digging
  10. key — for a lock
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. degree — from a university
  13. court — of law
  14. degree — an amount
  15. swing — in golf
  16. band — a music group
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. roll — a list
  20. swing — to play on
  21. band — a ring
  22. court — for sport
  23. key — the most important part
  24. chair — a professorship

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