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 116 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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. chair — a leader
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. row — a line
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bat — the animal
  12. court — of a king
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. squash — to crush
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. branch — a division
  17. rest — what's left
  18. row — to paddle
  19. squash — the sport
  20. rest — a break
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. chair — a professorship

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