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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. land — ground
  3. season — in sport
  4. land — a country
  5. rash — a series
  6. court — for sport
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. net — after costs
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. net — in sport
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. rule — a law
  14. season — of the year
  15. court — of law
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. squash — to crush
  18. net — for catching
  19. rule — government
  20. squash — the sport
  21. rash — hasty
  22. land — to come down
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. rule — to rule out

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