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: spring · scale · swing · date · net · degree · arm · court

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. net — for catching
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. spring — of water
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. swing — in golf
  8. court — of law
  9. court — of a king
  10. net — after costs
  11. scale — in music
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. degree — from a university
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. net — in sport
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. court — for sport

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