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: coach · craft · rush · degree · game · stand · spring · clip

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. spring — the season
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. rush — hurry
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. game — a match
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. spring — of water
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. craft — boats
  15. game — wild animals
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spring — a coil
  18. craft — a skill
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stand — to bear
  21. degree — temperature
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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