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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pop — soda
  4. bore — to drill
  5. lean — to bend
  6. field — for sport
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bore — to tire
  9. spell — magic
  10. pop — to visit
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spell — letters
  13. lean — thin
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. court — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. court — of law
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. spell — a short time
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. pop — music
  23. field — farmland
  24. sharp — with an edge

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