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

Word bank: racket · ground · rock · degree · fork · cold · chip · court

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rock — a stone
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rock — music
  6. degree — an amount
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cold — not warm
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. ground — a position
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. ground — the earth
  17. court — of law
  18. fork — in a road
  19. chip — for betting
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. degree — temperature
  24. chip — to eat

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