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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. court — of a king
  4. firm — a company
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ground — a position
  9. root — of a word
  10. firm — decided
  11. court — of law
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. root — the cause
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. firm — steady
  19. mine — for digging
  20. court — for sport
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. ground — the earth
  24. root — of a plant

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