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: degree · ball · patient · clip · board · swing · last · hand

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. last — final
  3. clip — for paper
  4. degree — temperature
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. hand — in cards
  9. clip — a video
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. swing — in golf
  12. clip — to cut
  13. ball — a dance
  14. degree — from a university
  15. swing — music
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. last — to go on
  19. board — a committee
  20. swing — to play on
  21. hand — help
  22. ball — a great time
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. last — finally

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