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: arm · land · object · court · degree · stock · key · snap

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. land — to come down
  3. degree — from a university
  4. snap — to click
  5. degree — an amount
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. object — to protest
  8. court — for sport
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. degree — temperature
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. object — a thing
  14. key — the most important part
  15. court — of a king
  16. land — ground
  17. stock — shares
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. stock — goods
  20. court — of law
  21. land — a country
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. key — for a lock
  24. object — an aim

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