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

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. key — for a lock
  3. object — a thing
  4. court — of law
  5. field — a subject
  6. tube — a container
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — in music
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. game — a match
  12. object — an aim
  13. court — of a king
  14. object — to protest
  15. field — farmland
  16. tube — the underground
  17. field — for sport
  18. game — wild animals

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