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: mug · race · court · stock · date · degree · rash · swing

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rash — hasty
  5. stock — shares
  6. rash — a series
  7. race — a contest
  8. court — for sport
  9. swing — to play on
  10. race — the arms race
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. court — of a king
  13. mug — to rob
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mug — a cup
  16. swing — music
  17. stock — goods
  18. mug — a face
  19. court — of law
  20. date — the fruit
  21. race — humankind
  22. swing — in golf
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. degree — an amount

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