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 · fine · sharp · safe · game · mine · file

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. game — wild animals
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fine — all right
  5. degree — an amount
  6. court — for sport
  7. fine — high quality
  8. sharp — clever
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. game — a match
  11. degree — temperature
  12. court — of law
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. file — a document
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. degree — from a university
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. court — of a king
  20. mine — for digging
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. sharp — with an edge

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