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're almost out of ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. court — of law
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — an aim
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pop — music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. court — of a king
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. clip — a video
  14. degree — temperature
  15. stem — to come from
  16. court — for sport
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. clip — for paper
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. pop — to visit
  24. degree — from a university

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