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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. court — for sport
  3. land — to come down
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stock — goods
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. stock — shares
  11. shower — to wash
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. land — ground
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. land — a country

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