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: cell · spring · bear · degree · racket · chair · bat · kid

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. degree — an amount
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bear — the animal
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spring — the season
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. spring — of water
  15. degree — temperature
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. kid — child
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. racket — for tennis

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