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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. staff — a stick
  4. court — for sport
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — of a king
  9. board — to get on
  10. cold — an illness
  11. vault — a safe
  12. mine — for digging
  13. staff — employees
  14. chest — of your body
  15. board — a committee
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cold — not warm
  19. chest — a box
  20. court — of law
  21. bat — the animal
  22. staff — employees
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. cold — the Cold War

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