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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · spring · bound · degree · patient · kick

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hand — help
  3. bound — obliged
  4. kick — in football
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bound — tied together
  10. degree — temperature
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bound — certain
  14. spring — of water
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. spring — a coil
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spring — the season

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