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: scale · fall · bat · pound · degree · fork · drill · court

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. fork — in a road
  3. court — for sport
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bat — the animal
  6. drill — the tool
  7. court — of law
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pound — a weight
  12. scale — in music
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. drill — army training
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. court — of a king

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