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 116 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: stock · court · degree · pop · cue · swing · snap · wax

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cue — a hint
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. swing — music
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. swing — in golf
  9. pop — soda
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — music
  13. degree — an amount
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cue — a signal
  20. stock — shares
  21. court — of a king
  22. stock — goods
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cue — for pool

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