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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. court — for sport
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cap — a hat
  5. fine — high quality
  6. swing — in golf
  7. cap — of ice
  8. fine — all right
  9. cap — a lid
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. court — of law
  16. swing — music
  17. ball — a great time
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. firm — decided
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. firm — a company
  22. cold — not warm
  23. court — of a king
  24. cold — an illness

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