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

Word bank: degree · court · stand · wind · club · spell

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. degree — an amount
  3. club — for golf
  4. spell — magic
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. club — a group
  11. court — for sport
  12. spell — letters
  13. court — of law
  14. club — for dancing
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. court — of a king
  17. degree — temperature
  18. spell — a short time

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