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: track · cell · ball · degree · face · court · rock · net

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. court — of a king
  6. face — to confront
  7. rock — a stone
  8. face — part of the head
  9. net — in sport
  10. cell — a phone
  11. ball — a dance
  12. court — for sport
  13. degree — an amount
  14. net — after costs
  15. track — to keep track
  16. ball — a great time
  17. track — a song
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. face — to point toward
  20. net — for catching
  21. track — a path
  22. court — of law
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cell — in a prison

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