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 120 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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. court — for sport
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. chest — a box
  8. track — to keep track
  9. fine — all right
  10. chest — of your body
  11. track — a path
  12. capital — a city
  13. fine — high quality
  14. rush — hurry
  15. march — the month
  16. track — a song
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cell — a phone
  20. march — the month
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. capital — money
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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