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: band · degree · cap · spring · fall · court · hide · ground

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. degree — temperature
  3. spring — the season
  4. ground — crushed
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fall — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. cap — a hat
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cap — a lid
  13. band — a ring
  14. ground — the earth
  15. degree — an amount
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. band — a music group
  19. cap — of ice
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. court — of law
  22. fall — to drop
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ground — a position

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