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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. toast — bread
  4. land — to come down
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. court — of a king
  10. bark — to shout
  11. sharp — clever
  12. court — of law
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pound — a weight
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. vault — a safe
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. land — ground
  20. cold — an illness
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. land — a country
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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