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: cell · court · rush · rock · mine · degree · net · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. court — for sport
  3. net — in sport
  4. cell — a phone
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. degree — an amount
  9. net — for catching
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. net — after costs
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. mine — for digging
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. rush — hurry
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cell — in biology

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