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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. lean — thin
  7. net — after costs
  8. degree — from a university
  9. court — for sport
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. net — for catching
  13. lean — to bend
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. court — of a king
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. date — the fruit
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. saw — the tool
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. saw — the tool
  24. net — in sport

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