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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. tear — from crying
  5. object — a thing
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. file — a tool
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. object — to protest
  11. court — of law
  12. branch — a division
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. chip — for betting
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. chip — to eat
  17. band — a music group
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. band — a ring
  20. file — a document
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. object — an aim
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. file — a line of people

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