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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cold — not warm
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. drill — the tool
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wax — to grow
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. court — for sport
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cold — an illness
  17. court — of a king
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. drill — a practice
  20. court — of law
  21. drill — army training
  22. bound — certain
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cell — in a prison

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