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: bat · march · stem · court · kid · degree · bear · plane

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. march — music
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. march — the month
  6. degree — an amount
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. march — the month
  19. plane — a tool
  20. court — for sport
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. stem — to come from
  24. plane — an aircraft

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