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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. court — for sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. band — a ring
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — a trail
  10. mate — a partner
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. mate — to breed
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a music group
  16. court — of law
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mate — a friend
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — size or range
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. scale — in music

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